Prophecy Productions

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    Arð - Untouched by Fire (2024)

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    After blowing us away with their debut release in 2022, Mark Deeks and Arð return with another monumental release titled “Untouched by Fire”. Perfectly mixing eerie choir arrangements with traditional Doom Metal, or monastic doom as the band has been pegged, this release is more epic, more solemn, and more dreamy than the last one. So be prepared for a truly immersive and mournful listening experience.

    Opening with the crushing riffs of “Cursed To Nothing But Patience”, this outfit sets a very ethereal and regal atmosphere that only a handful of bands can create, like Hamferð and Skepticism. The lush instrumentation adds an extra layer to the music, with tons of intricate elements perfectly introduced in precise moments to capture the cinematic experience of Arð’s music, as show in the opener and other excellent tracks like “Name Bestowed”, “Hefenfelth” and our favorite, the even more melancholic “He Saw Nine Winters” and its weeping lead guitars.

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    DOOL - The Shape of Fluidity (2024)

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    After taking the scene by storm with “Summerland”, DOOL had set an impossibly high bar for their follow-up release. Fast-forward four years and the band is ready to unleash “The Shape of Fluidity” to the world, featuring nine tracks and nearly 50 minutes of their signature Dark Rock. Further improving their energy level and songwriting abilities, this release more than delivers on the potential and promise of this excellent outfit.

    From the opening single, “Venus in Flames”, Raven Van Dorst’s presence is immediately felt thanks to her signature vocals and guitar playing chops. The album starts with a bang, thanks to a very well crafted and energetic song with some epic passages and dreamy interludes. The band’s music is very melodic and guitar driven, with pieces like “Self-Dissect”, the album title track, and “Evil in You” delivering highly intoxicating riffs and perfectly crafted tempo changes. While other songs like “Currents” serve to create atmospheric pauses and brace the listener for what follows.

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    The Vision Bleak - Weird Tales (2024)

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    Schwadorf and Kontanz are finally back with another set of bizarre and playful tales of horror. In “Weird Tales”, the duo unleashes a single 41-minute long piece that is divided into 12 chapters, each with their own uniqueness and magic. For those that are not familiar with the band’s music, they play something they call Horror Metal, which is a horror-themed Gothic Metal, filled with eerie and playful atmospherics as well as excellent storytelling and even some theatrics.

    After opening with some spooky atmospherics that set a very cinematic vibe, Schwadorf and his melodic guitar riffs continue to build momentum as the dual vocal onslaught of a mixture of harsh and clean vocals unleash the band’s dramatic theatrical style. Chapters “In Rue d'Auseil”, “In Gardens Red, Satanical”, and “Once I Was a Flower” instantly transport the listener into the band’s sinister and fantasy-filled world, creating a very mystical and enjoyable vibe.

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    Austere - Beneath the Threshold (2024)

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    After a long hiatus, the masters of melancholy and one of the initiators of the Depressive Black Metal sound, Austere finally returned last year with a killer release. Not even one year has passed and they are now back with another demoralizing album with “Beneath the Threshold”. Featuring six tracks and around 40 minutes of music, this Aussie duo unleash more depressive vibes filled with melancholy and some crafty musicianship.

    Opening with “Thrall”, we get a slow burning piece that nicely unleashes dissonant guitars in a very mellow tempo alongside harsh and mournful vocals. The duality of the clean and harsh vocals alongside the subtle keyboard atmospherics creates a thick and soul crushing atmosphere, the thing we most enjoy from this band. Both “The Sunset of Life” and “Faded Ghost” masterfully induce more misery thanks to their crafty tempo changes and very solemn atmospheres.

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    Isenordal - Requiem for Eirênê (2024)

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    Unleashing one of the most powerful and disarming releases of 2024, today we have Isenordal and their latest opus “Requiem for Eirênê”. Filled with melancholy, this release features five tracks and over 50 minutes of majestically crafted music that transports the listener with mysterious and bleak soundscapes. Filled with lush instrumentation and perfect execution, this is one of our early candidates for best release of the year.

    Opening with the 15-minute behemoth “A Moment Approaches Eternity”, we get a slow atmospheric progression adorned by solemn viola accents, just until the moment when crushing Doom riffs lead way to harsh screams. The level of bleakness induced by the weeping guitars and the masterful tempo is unparalleled, and it only gets better as the track progresses with even more dramatic instrumentation and some hellish aggressive passages.

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    Farsot - Life Promised Death (2024)

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    Always delivering some of the most unique and intricately crafted releases, Lupus Lounge presents Farsot’s latest offering “Life Promised Death”. Seven years have passed since the band’s last release and it seems like no time has passed as this album has nearly 50 minutes of expertly crafted music that reminds us of bands like Fen, Eïs, and Todtgelichter.

    The release opens with the fierce “Nausea”, a piece that slowly builds momentum and delivers crafty layered guitars alongside moody tempo changes. The piercing “Buoyant Flames” and “Into Vertigo” are some of those greatly moody tracks that perfectly blends aggression with more introspective and slower passages that create beauty and contrast.

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    Vemod - The Deepening (2024)

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    Unleashing a mesmerizing first release in over a decade, Vemod delivers nearly 50 minutes of highly dynamic and engaging Atmospheric Black Metal. With parallels to Agalloch, Fen and similar artists, there are six lush tracks in this release with plenty of memorable passages and arrangements. Far from straightforward and predictable, this album is surely going to make plenty of best of 2024 releases.

    After the mood setting intro, “Der guder dør” fiercely delivers incisive riffs alongside a very hypnotic tempo and masterful vocal arrangements. Creating a very powerful and demoralizing atmosphere, the band perfectly weaves dramatic instrumental passages with more aggressive and brutal onslaughts. With an even stronger pace, “True North Beckons” has a certain Borknagar in the “Olden Domain” days vibe mixed in with a more modern Blackgaze edge to it, and even some jazziness is thrown into the mix.

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    Dymna Lotva - Зямля пад чорнымі крыламі: Кроў (2023)

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    Creating one of the more harrowing and intense releases of 2023, today we have Dymna Lotva and their third full-length release “Зямля пад чорнымі крыламі: Кроў”. With over 72 minutes of music, this album is both beautiful and demoralizing. Full with eerie atmospherics, lush arrangements and intense vocals, this release is one of the most powerful ones that Prophecy Productions has put out in quite a while.

    Opening with “Ідзі і глядзі”, we get very powerful atmospherics and crafty guitar work. The wide variety of vocal styles create a very diverse and engaging narrative, ranging from mourns to screams, masterfully paired around lush arrangements. As “Пахаваны жыўцом” and “Смерць цалуе ў вочы” roll by, the band weaves back and forth between lush Doomy passages and full-on atmospheric oppression, always flanked by piercing guitars and tempo changes.

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    Fen - Monument to Absence (2023)

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    Just when you think you have a band figured out, they pull a 180 degree turn and unleash a very unique and different release. In this case, Fen is the band in question and the release is “Monument to Absence”. Diverging a bit from their usual dreamy and mellow style into a more ravaging Atmospheric Black Metal style, this release unleashes nearly 70 minutes of high-octane music with a proggier and very aggressive music.

    Opening with a bang with “Scouring Ignorance”, the band quickly sets an intense pace with fierce riffing and blistering drumming. If you didn’t know this song was from Fen, you would think it is from a more ‘traditional’ Black Metal outfit. It is not until the more melodic passages are brought forth that you can hear the band’s DNA in this song. The album title track craftily brings the more desolate and melancholic passages the band is known for, creating a very immersive atmosphere.

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    Saturnus - The Storm Within (2023)

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    Finally! After ten years of waiting, Saturnus returns with another full-length release titled “The Storm Within”. Being a fan of the band has meant waiting, and waiting, and waiting some more between releases, but now that the time has come: the band delivers with this one. Oozing soul crushing melancholy, this release features nearly 60 minutes of crushing Doom, just what we expected from this band.

    Opening with the album title track, the release slowly picks up as Thomas and his deep growls come front and center. With two new guitarists: Indee Rehal-Sagoo (lead) and Julio Fernandez (rhythm), the band’s sound is slightly different, with more ‘upbeat’ songs that border more in the melodic Death Metal realm, like “Breathe New Life”. However, the punishing and slow magic of their previous releases is also present in demoralizing pieces like “Chasing Ghosts” and “The Calling”.

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