Vintersea - Woven Into Ashes (2023)

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There are few albums that span almost every possible genre of Metal, in a cohesive and creative way. Today, Vintersea manages to achieve the near-impossible with their latest opus “Woven Into Ashes”. Further expanding their Progressive Death/Black Metal core, the band throws in some Doom/Djent/Goth elements to the nearly 50 minutes of music split in eight tracks. If you liked the band’s previous effort, “Illuminated”, you will certainly love this one.

Opening with crafty guitars and very lively tempo changes, “Unveiling Light” gives us that Into Eternity vibe from their “Buried In Oblivion/The Scattering of Ashes” days. Things get quite heavy, in a very Death Metal way on “Devil’s Churn”, with quite brutal and intense opening that suddenly waves back and forth melodic clean-vocal sections. Avienne Low is a very talented vocalist that perfectly transitions between hypnotic clean vocals and powerful harsh screams as the blistering “At the Gloaming Void” and “Lonesome Tide”.

Hasard - Malivore (2023)

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Unleashing a monumental nightmare-inducing behemoth of a release, today we have Hasard and their chaotic opus “Malivore”. Filled with intensity and lunacy, this release delivers five tracks and roughly 45 minutes of some of the most disturbing music ever created. With elements from bands like Blut Aus Nord and Ævangelist paired with the theatrics of Devil Doll and Elend, this release is both punishing and haunting.

The release kicks off with the foul “Hypnocentrisme”, and its cavernous first few minutes. Mixing creepy and harsh vocals with lush and over-the-top orchestral arrangements, this album quickly sets a haunting vibe as it gets under your skin. Both “Vicivers” and the album title track slowly creep on you with funky atmospherics and heavy Black Metal onslaughts, creating a very visceral and disturbing atmosphere that few have dared to craft.

Chrome Waves - Earth Will Shed Its Skin (2023)

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North America’s finest Post-Black Metal band returns with another brilliantly melancholic and crushing release titled “Earth Will Shed Its Skin”. Featuring six tracks and exactly 42 minutes of misery-inducing music, the band further hones their trade delivering a masterful mixture of melancholy and aggression, paired with bleak atmospherics. If you liked the band’s earlier efforts, this release will be right up your alley as it is more refined and yet maintains the band’s core sound.

Opening with the mellow “Forward”, the band sets a very moody and engaging tempo that is both aggressive and yet catchy, thanks to its weeping guitars and atmospherics. As “Under the Weight of a Billion Souls”, we get additional catchiness mixed in with intricate bass guitar lines, shoegazey passages, and crafty vocal arrangements. The band’s sound is quite dynamic as it weaves back and forth between fast and punishing to introspective and melancholic, as we can hear in pieces like “The Long Rope” and “What Desperate Looks Like”.

Grave Pleasures - Plagueboys (2023)

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Unleashing somber waves of catchiness and a very engaging vibe, today we have Grave Pleasures and their latest opus “Plagueboys”. Featuring a very unique mixture of Post-Punk with some darkness to it, and even some elements of Surf/Indie Rock, this band has been captivating audiences for nearly a decade now (with this name), and they just keep getting better and better. If you are looking for something ‘slow’, dark, mysterious, and non-Metal, this release will be to your liking.

Starting strong with the memorable “Disintegration Girl”, we get that gloomy signature vibe from the band, particularly when Mat McNerney’s signature vocals come out. The playful interplay between Juho Vanhanen lead guitars and Valtteri Arino dominant bass guitar line is another strength from this band, making sounds like “Heart Like A Slaughterhouse”, “When The Shooting's Done”, and “High On Annihilation”, just extremely catchy and very diverse.

Outlaw - Reaching Beyond Assiah (2023)

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Featuring a pummeling intensity, today we have International outfit Outlaw and their third full-length release “Reaching Beyond Assiah”. With a huge Dissection/Thulcandra vibe, this band delivers seven memorable anthems that clock in at around 45 minutes. Filled with melody and explosiveness, this release is certainly for Black Metal fans that want to be headbanging for almost an hour straight.

Opening with the blistering intensity of “Bliss of Soul”, we get a nice balanced onslaught of melodic riffs and a hectic tempo. The Dissection worship starts with the epic “To Burn This World And Dissolve The Flesh”, a track filled with very familiar sounding riffs, but nicely arranged to fit the band’s relentless style. We particularly enjoyed the lead guitars in the aforementioned track and other melodic standouts like “Beyond The Realms of God” and “The Unending Night”.

Austere - Corrosion of Hearts (2023)

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Gladly surprising everybody about a comeback a few years back, Austere returns with a brilliantly hypnotic and demoralizing release with “Corrosion of Hearts”. Featuring four tracks and clocking in at 46 minutes, this release is everything that any fan of the band could have expected, and then some. As one of the best outfits of the Depressive Black Metal movement, their mid 2000’s “Withering Illusions and Desolation” release is soul crushing, and this release shows they didn’t skip a beat.

Opening with “Sullen”, this track was premiered during their first live shows in 2022 at Dark Bombastic Evening and Prophecy Fest. For nearly 12 minutes we get that signature trance inducing melancholic riffing alongside the signature screams of Tim Yatras. Always perfectly in sync with Mitchell Keepin’s dramatic atmospheric and hypnotic songwriting, the band unleashes sheer misery inducing onslaughts with the moody tempos of “A Ravenous Oblivion”.

Diablation - Par Le Feu (2023)

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There is definitely something magical in the water in France as they have a solid wave of talented Metal bands coming front and center. Today’s turn is for Diablation and their superbly polished and engaging Symphonic Black Metal. With “Par Le Feu”, this band gives us …And Oceans-meets-Alghazanth vibes with some Anorexia Nervosa and Limbonic Art splashed in. Featuring seven tracks and nearly 40 minutes of music, this is one hell of a release that no fan of the genre can miss.

Opening with the enigmatic intro “Inferi Ostium”, the band really hits full stride with the crushing “Vox Diaboli” and its waves of punishing guitars paired with hellish screams. The atmospheric keyboards have that magical late 90’s (or early 2000’s) vibe, when they are overpowering, but seamlessly blend into the mix, as we can hear in brilliant songs like “L'unique merveille”, “Au bord du gouffre”, and “Crépuscule doré”. If the vocals sound familiar, is because they are delivered by none other than Vicomte Vampyr Arkames, who used to handle these duties in Seth a while ago.

Seven Spires - Omnium Gatherum - Eluveitie - The Masquerade, Atlanta, GA - 3/30/2023

Nearly at the end of their tour, this excellent package made its way to Atlanta, GA, and there is no way we were going to miss them. Opening the night we had Seven Spires, a band that has played a few times here before at ProgPower USA, and most recently they came through town with DragonForce in 2022. With their excellent heavier than average and highly Progressive Symphonic Metal, Adrienne Cowan and company delivered a killer show.

Countless Skies - Resonance (2023)

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As one of the most promising and epic Melodic Death Metal bands, Countless Skies has blown us away with their killer full length releases “Glow” and “New Dawn”. With “Resonance”, the band dabbles into the live in the studio recordings territory with great success. Featuring songs from both their full-length releases, this five track EP is just what the doctor ordered to keep the momentum going for this excellent band.

The release opens with “Daybreak” from their “New Dawn” release and they completely nail it. We love how this track sounds slightly different with a higher emphasis on the cello arrangements from Arianna Mahsayeh. The other track from the same release is a shorter version of the Insomnium-esque “Wanderer”, again showcasing their insanely good lead guitars alongside melancholy dripping melodic passages.

Tribulation - Hamartia (2023)

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Just when you think a band can’t get any better, Tribulation drops on un “Hamartia”, a four song EP that further consolidates their sinister sound. Creating very unique and decadent sounding tracks, this EP keeps their catchiness and darkness untouched with delivering harrowing atmospheres. With a signature sound that has gracefully evolved over time, this release will satisfy fans of the band and plant some fertile seeds of what is to come in the future.

Opening with the title track, the band immediately creates a splash with ravaging and superbly catchy guitars alongside Johannes Andersson’s characteristic snarl and thumping bass guitar lines. Quickly creating that heavy and yet melodic bombastic vibe, the band’s firing on all cylinders as things get catchier and darker with the playful “Axis Mundi”.

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