Art in its Blackest form
This album from Ukrainian one man band Käkht Aräkh was already released in 2021, but has been playing since in the Black Forest Magazine camp.
This is one of the most unique black metal albums for years. It definitely has an old school vibe, but this concept album is something to be described as romantic black metal (like black metal could use more sub genres) as it leans on heavy use of melodies and piano. Anyway, it’s interesting and we like it!
Wandering in the night, Pale Swordsman! Ugh!
Heard about Gaerea? If the answer is no it’s about time you do. These masked Portugese has just released their new album ‘Limbo’ on Season of Mist, and it’s seriously a masterpiece.
According to themselves Gaerea «… challenges the archetype of black metal, coloring outside of the genre’s lines with melancholy texture and deep emotion». In my opinion Gaerea sounds like a mixture of black metal and post-metal, topped with some Behemoth-like epicness.
I’m pretty sure this band will be on most black metal fans’ lips during 2020, so be sure to check them out. You can listen to the full album below, in one of the coolest looking and most eerie YouTube listening session ever:
Portland based Idle Hands released their debut album ‘Mana’ a year ago. One year earlier they released the 5 track EP ‘Don’t Waste Your Time’.
This EP was according to the band actually going to be a 7 track EP, but they had to skip the last two songs because they ran out of time and money. Now they are ready to release them.
Idle Hands sound reminds me of Swedish bands like Tribulation and especially In Solitude, which unfortunately entered the grave some years ago.
The sound consists of traditional heavy metal with a melancholic and dark atmosphere to it. The songs are catchy and are inviting for singing along. If you are quick you can order the limited edition LP at their label Eisenwald, or listen to it at Bandcamp or other streaming services. Keep looking out for Idle Hands!
The Swedes of the post-punk ensemble Alfahanne just released their first song with english lyrics. And it might be their best song to date. It’s darker and more atmospheric than ever before! Look out for their upcoming album Atomvinter, which will be released October 4th on CD and vinyl!
Tracklist:
01 Atomvinter – Feat. Hoest
02 Lovers Against The World
03 Alla Mot Alla – Feat. Nag
04 A Place To Call Home (Ärla Boggie)
05 Sluten Cirkel
06 Sakna Mig Som Om Jag Var Död
07 The Heavy Burden
08 Himlen Kan Vänta
09 En Tight Knut
Beautifully intense desperation.
That’s the words that comes to mind while listening to this record. With the End in Mind combines soothing instrumental parts with intense atmospheric post-black. And they do it really well.
With the End in Mind were originally formed back in 2010 as a solo project, but “…though initially a solitary, introverted endeavor, musical allies were recruited in 2013”, according to the band’s press letter. Since 2010 they’ve released two EPs and performed several gigs. Now they are ready to release their first album consisting of 5 songs (songs up to 14 minutes long). ‘Unraveling; Arising’ was actually already self-released back in 2016, but will now have an international vinyl release.
If you’re a fan of post-metal and black metal you should check out With the End in Mind. This album surely combines the best from both worlds, accompanied by desperate vocals. Album is out July 6th, 2018 through Sweden’s Temple of Torturous.
Tracklist:
1. Sings The Sky
2. Anguish Symmetry
3. Unraveling; Arising
4. From The True Source
5. Wheeling, Endlessly Wheeling
We’ve been listening to Grave Pleasures ever since they called themselves Beastmilk. Back in 2010, when they first entered the scene, we thought they were a fresh breath with really appealing aestetics. We covered them when they changed name to Grave Pleasures, and released their ‘Dreamcrash‘.
Now they have unleashed their brand new ‘Motherblood’ on Century Media, and we’re in awe. Once again Grave Pleasures feels like a fresh breath! The lyrics are poetic in all their gloomy post-punk apocalyptic catchiness. Just sing along to these lines:
Be My Hiroshima
Be my great destroyer
Make these crimes of my heart erupt
Like flowers on the far horizon
They have made some changes in the line-up since Dreamcrash, and the band now consists of writers Mat McNerney/Kvohst (Hexvessel, Beastmilk, Code, DHG) and Juho Vanhanen (Oranssi Pazuzu, Atomikylä), Aleksi Kiiskilä on guitars, Valtteri Arino on bass and Rainer Tuomikanto on drums. Frontman Mat/Kvohst explains ‘Motherblood’ this way, and we can’t but agree:
If you have never danced with the skeletons, then this album is your gateway drug to all the nihilistic pleasures of the grave. Apocalyptic post-punk never sounded so desperately bleak and wild yet never grinned so maniacally and writhed so fervently with tongues that whip the tombs.
You can find out more about the band here:
Facebook
Gravepleasures.com
And listen to them here:
Harakiri for the Sky has been around since 2011, and for those into post-black and depressive black metal, this Austrian duo is probably not unknown.
Already from their first album, I’ve admired their visual and lyrical expression. Their artworks are simply beautiful, and their depressive lyrics has a really poetic touch to them. And for each album they have crafted their style more and more, and their upcoming album ‘III: Trauma’ stands out as a unique performance of grandiose hoplessness. Listen to their full album below.
The Australian black metal scene has been on a rise the last ten years or so with high ranked bands such as Austere, Woods of Desolation, and Nazxul amongst others. Mesarthim is a worthy addition with their debut album ‘Isolate’.
Mesarthim sounds somewhat like a sci-fi version of Summoning, with slow hypnotic atmosphere that creates an impression of being completely alone in the desolate space. If you have seen the movie Gravity, you know what I’m talking about. That hopeless claustrophobic feeling of being lost in an endless void. So as you already may have thought, this release delivers an atmosphere that is pretty close to the depressive black metal sound that you may know from the mentioned Australian acts. The sound is so close to Nazxul, that you may even suspect they share some members, as the two members of Mesarthim go by the cryptic names . and ..
If you’re a fan of sci-fi and black metal, this is definitely a band to look out for. Start with checking their debut album in the Bandcamp link below, and get lost in space.
‘Isolate’ tracklisting:
1. Osteopenia
2. Declaration
3. Interstellar
4. Abyss
5. Floating
6. Isolate
This spring swedish crossover thrashers Germ Bomb releases their 3rd full length ‘Under a Fading Sun’. My first encounter with them was with their debut album back in 2010, when they made me sing ‘Infected! Infected!’ all summer.
Allthough I know the band is not found of being categorized, they still play powerful crossover thrash with hints of both heavy metal, black’n’roll and doom. To me, ‘Under a Fading Sun’ feels alot darker and dirtier than their previous material. In ‘Funeral Blues’ for instance, the riffs are slower and doomier, matching it’s title perfectly. ‘Endless Thirst’ has more melodic vocals, sending me to heavy metal land. Last track on the album, called ‘Religious Vomit’ has a perfect groovy black’n’roll riff in the middle, making my nose wrinkle (in that good metal way).
Germ Bomb – Under a Fading Sun
So, to sum it up, I think ‘Under a Fading Sun’ is both darker and more diverse than Germ Bombs previous releases. It’s reflected on the album cover which is inspired by polish surrealist Zdzisław Beksiński (who by the way is one of my favourite artists – you should google him!).
The album was recorded in Welfare Sounds Studio in Gothenburg (Bombus, Bombs of Hades) in october 2014 with Per Stålberg and Olle Björk behind the knobs and as producers, mastered by Daniel Johansson and artwork created by Lenore Ani.
Don’t forget to read our interview with them here, and watch their music video ‘1000 suns’ . You’ll find the band and more information about where to buy here:
Lately we’ve had a wave of occult bands moving between heavy and black metal. Sweden has been one of the of the countries that has been leading way with bands such as Ghost and In Solitude amongst others. With the decease of In Solitude, we definitely lost one of the masters of occult heavy metal. The throne has now been passed on to fellow countrymen.
Tribulation moves gently between heavy metal and black metal. It’s not without reason I mentioned In Solitude in the beginning, because Tribulation are pretty close to them music-wise. But on another hand their vocalist Johannes Andersson has a lot more darker vocals, and in many ways resembles the vocals of Jon Nödtveidt.
‘The Children of the Night’ is a diverse album, and is a collection of dark emotions represented by everything from piano parts to more classic heavy metal styled grimness. A band to look out for, and a must see live in 2015. Watch the video of ‘Strange Gateways Beckon’ below.