Black Metal

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    The Prisoner – Life of the Mind (2016)

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    As one of the heaviest releases through Dooweet Records in the last few months, today we have Parisians The Prisoner and their sophomore release “Life of the Mind”. Clocking in at 62 minutes, this release perfectly blends aggressive Black Metal elements with Death Metal and Post-Metal influences. Creating a very unique and powerful wall of sound, this band is ready to captivate the listener with their sheer brutality and craftsmanship.

    Opening with the catchy riffs of “Awake”, the band sets a very Doomy/Post-Metal mood just before they jump into some blistering Black Metal onslaught, a la Der Weg Einer Freiheit. Achieving a perfect balance between sheer aggression and more hypnotic states, the band pummels through tracks like “Emptied”, “Battling Ego”, and “Still Here”, perfectly tweaking their craft.

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    Raspail – Dirge (2016)

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    Delivering one of the most sorrowful releases of 2016, today we have Italy’s Raspail and their crushing album “Dirge”. Perfectly amalgamating Doom, Post Metal, Black Metal and Shoegaze influences, the band manages to sound like a mix of Lantlôs, Desire, Skepticism with some Heretoir thrown into the mix. Not for the faint of heart, this release unleashes eight highly emotional compositions that will haunt your dreams.

    The album starts with the dissonance of “The Wander”, a track that slowly evolves into an oppressive force thanks to the harsh vocals and demoralizing riffs. The band’s tempo changes are outstanding and one of the reasons this release is so powerful, as we can see on the monolithic “The Nymph’s Wood Hymn to the Rising Sun”. This nearly six-minute piece reminds us of bands like Desire and their knack for juxtaposing oppressive atmospherics and gut-wrenching vocals.

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    Lascar – Absence (2016)

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    Being huge fans of Post-Black Metal it is always quite delightful to get a new release from the genre that manages to be good enough to avoid being called a clone of Alcest, Heretoir, etc, today Lascar deserves that honor with their debut release Absence. Hailing from Chile, this new signing to ATMF’s A Sad Sadness Song imprint unleashes to a wider audience this special release that also includes the band’s demo titled “Depths”.

    Opening with melancholic acoustic guitars, “Atlas” delivers a very interesting mixture of elements from bands like Agalloch and An Autumn for Crippled Children. The track’s rawness is perfectly balanced by dramatic atmospheric elements and mournful riffs. As a one man project, Lascar manages to control all creative aspects and delivers emotionally charged songs that ooze melancholy and brutality as the contrasting “Wilderness”.

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    Dead to a Dying World – Live at Roadburn 2016 (2016)

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    Perfectly capturing an epic performance at the legendary Roadburn festival, today we have Dead to a Dying World’s “Live at Roadburn 2016”. Clocking in at nearly 60 minutes, this release brilliantly reflects the band’s live performances ferociousness. Paired with a very clear sound and mix, this release continues to hold the standards of the “Live at Roadburn” series of releases over the years.

    The album instantly jumps at the listener with the intensity of “The Hunt Eternal”, a fierce track that features blistering riffs, mournful viola arrangements, and hellish male and female harsh vocals. After warming up with the 16-minute opening track, the band went into the moodier “Eventide”. This track has a certain My Dying Bride meets Elend vibe that we greatly enjoy and was perfectly transmitted live.

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    Karg – Weltenasche (2016)

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    From Harakiri for the Sky’s vocalist, today we have Karg, a one-man battalion delivering highly atmospheric Black Metal/Post-Black Metal. Featuring eight tracks and over 70 minutes of dreamy music, “Weltenasche” is a very soothing and yet demoralizing release that will certainly appeal to all fans of Depressive Black Metal to Post-Black Metal.

    Opening with the incisive “Crevasse”, we are treated to a very moody and diverse track filled with tempo changes and heavy atmospheric elements. The album continues to perfectly juxtapose aggressiveness and melody as we can hear in the progression of “Alles wird in Flammen stehen”, which some parts remind us a bit of Dornenreich. The band’s raw emotions are instantly felt in songs like “Le couloir des ombres” which has a certain Alcet-like vibe, but with the Karg imprint dominating.

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    Dysemblem – Strength of Giants (2016)

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    Arriving from the UK, today we have new-comer(s) Dysemblem and their debut release “Strength of Giants”. With a pummeling old-school Death/Black Metal style, this outfit delivers 32 minutes of an action packed release that shows a great deal of promise and a hefty dosage of violence.

    Opening with the relentless riffing of “Down the Chasm”, the band makes a big impression with such a punishing sound. The mixture of harsh growls and crafty drums makes for a very entertaining back-to-basics track. The Death Metal influences are key for making tracks like “Gourd of the Damned” very catchy while being superbly brutal. With a certain Swedish Death Metal edge to it, “Gloria Victis” is one of our favorite tracks as it reminds us a bit of old-school Grave and Centinex.

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    Aenaon – Hypnosophy (2016)

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    Finally ready to take the scene by storm, today we have Greece’s Aenaon and their latest full-length release “Hypnosophy”. Having refined their music over the year years of their existence, the band is ready to take the spotlight with this very mature and musically brilliant release. Perfectly blending experimental elements into a highly efficient Progressive Black Metal foundation, the band delivers 55 minutes of intense music.

    The album opens with the magnificent, “Oneirodynia”, a track that combines influences of Emperor, Ihsahn, and Arcturus in a very tight and perfectly executed nearly 8 minutes piece. The band has added a permanent saxophone player, which adds a good deal of depth and originality to their music. Not disappointing the band’s fans of heavier pieces, tracks like “Fire Walk With Me” deliver relentless high octane experiences.

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    Earth and Pillars – Pillars I (2016)

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    Recently released on Avantgarde Music, today we have Italy’s two man battalion Earth and Pillars with their sophomore release “Pillars I”. Delivering four tracks with over 60 minutes of relentless Atmospheric Black Metal, this band stands out from the competition with their Dark Ambient and Noise-ish influences. While everybody is trying to sound like Alcest, Deafheaven or Ghost Bath, this band marks their own path with their ravaging sound.

    The opener, “Pillars” slowly builds up to a chaotic mixture of blistering riffs, hyper fast drums, harsh screams and very prominent keyboard atmospheric elements. This mixture works very well in creating an oppressive and wall of sound that at times has some certain Noise-ish influences that bands like Ash Borer combine with their Black Metal, as we can hear in the multi-faceted “Myth”. This track has a very moody and cinematic vibe to it, making it an exhilarating listening experience.

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    Dreaded Void – The Abyssal Plane of Suffering (2016)

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    Arriving from Australia with great brutality and rawness, today we have Dreaded Void and their debut EP “The Abyssal Plane of Suffering”. Delivering over 20 minutes of gut-wrenching Black Metal, this is one of those few releases that while being quite brutal and harsh, it manages to be engineered to sound perfect.

    The EP kicks off with the blistering riffing of “Abyssal”. This track is filled with hate as we can hear from the combination of screams and growls that overtake the intensity of the riffing and drumming. There is a nearly instantaneous wall of sound being delivered via the relentless riffing onslaughts. Like a bag of bricks directly to the face, “The Murk” continues the ravaging with very brutal screams and a very sinister mood.

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    Mortualia – Wild, Wild Misery (2016)

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    Completely worth the wait, today we have Shatraug’s Mortualia’s latest album, “Wild, Wild Misery”, after a wait of six years. Delivering eight completely punishing Depressive Black Metal anthems, this is one of those releases that makes you feel completely powerless and yet totally addicted to it.

    Opening with blast beats of “Withdrawn”, this release kicks off in style as it sets into a very dissonant and oppressive atmospheric masterpiece. The riffs make up a very melodic component of Mortualia’s music, as we can hear in the superbly catchy opening of “Return to Silence”. Helming bands like Horna and Sargeist, Shatraug bleeds some of those influences on songs like “Out” and “Stolid”, but with the added Doom influences, making the music slow and very excruciating… in the best of ways.

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