Black Metal

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    Bölzer – Soma (2014)

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    Arriving like 1000 pounds of bricks to the head, Bölzer’s “Soma” EP further establishes the band as one of the premiere Black/Death Metal acts in the scene. Filled with hateful vocals and crushing riffing, this release brings back some of the best elements of the heydays of Black/Death Metal with a vengeance and delivers nearly 20 minutes of punishing music.

    Released on vinyl through Invictus Productions and with the first pressing already sold-out from them, this is one behemoth release that everybody is expecting. Opening with the soul-destroying “Steppes”, the band makes a quick impact with bestial DM riffs and hellish vocals. Bringing back memories of Centinex and Grave with an extra level of brutality, this track immediately brings out the headbanging cravings on anybody.

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    Mortualia – Blood of the Hermit (2014)

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    Unleashing one of the most barbaric Black Metal releases to date, Moribund Records unearths Mortualia’s sophomore release “Blood of the Hermit”. Featuring around 60 minutes of nihilistic raw music, this release will crush your soul and you will be begging for more. Shatraug is the true raw Black Metal master and with this release he shows how melancholic rawness can affect your psyche.

    Opening with the bestial “Becoming Meaningless”, Shatraug unleashes pure evil with a doomy/atmospheric induced coma filled with punishing guitars and inhuman screams. Lasting 12 minutes, this song is a brilliant exercise in expertly crafted melodic riffs that suddenly turn sour with the harsh screams. With a more typical structure, “Manic Euphoria” keeps the tempo slow but the dissonance to its highest for 10 minutes of pure hatred.

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    Vanhelga – Längtan (2014)

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    Deconstructing Black Metal into its rawest elements seems to be the task of Vanhelga since its inception. With “Längtan” the band continues its journey into the deepest and darkest corners of musical exploration with 12 terrifying tracks of pure misanthropy and bleakness. Gaining a few members along the way, 145188 brings his vision to life with a truly sickening sound that is quite raw and direct.

    Opening with the twisted melodies of “Svartsint ömhet” we get an assortment of deranged vocals laid over truly haunting simplistic music that will instantly get under your skin. Focusing on an eerie atmosphere, “Där evigheten inväntar mig” is one of our favorite tracks thanks to its raw power and bizarre tempo changes. The band’s ability to switch the direction of the song mid-course it’s one of the best assets that Vanhelga has in this release, making for a truly unique and abusive experience as heard in tracks like “Evig förändring” and the melancholic “Med mina andetag”.

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    Harakiri For The Sky – Aokigahara (2014)

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    After leaving a great impression on us with their self-titled debut full-length, Austria’s Harakiri For The Sky returns with an even more impressive release with Aokigahara. Delivering nine (plus one bonus track) onslaughts of perfectly crafted Black/Post-Black Metal anthems, the band calls upon a wide variety of guest vocalists to further expand their commanding (and very atmospheric) sound.

    Setting a very depressing mood with the demoralizing “My Bones to the Sea”, the doomy riffs nicely dictate a very calm pace to this killer song. With M.S in charge of all the instruments and J.J delivering the punishing vocals, this duo produces very melancholic music in the vein of acts like Heretoir, Lantlos, etc., but with their own signature style. The intensity picks up with the emotive “Jhator”, a track that features Seuche (Fäulnis) on guest vocals, and nicely shapes the aural abuse in a different direction than the band’s usual antics.

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    Monarque / Forteresse / Csejthe / Chasse-Galerie – Légendes (2014)

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    Arriving today from Sepulchral Productions we have a four-way split release that provides a nice introduction to four very solid Black Metal bands from Canada. Divided in two discs with each featuring a song on each side, this Canadian label does a great job in matching similar bands with sense for the more melodic and atmospheric side of BM.

    Opening with Fortresse, we have a punishing Atmospheric/Depressive BM sound filled with intense riffs and demoralizing vocals. While the song is quite engaging, it gets to be a bit repetitive, but this is not a total deal breaker. Side B of this disc has Chasse-Galerie and their well-developed track “Les Bois des Belles”. This song has a better structure to it, merging incisive riffs, a pulsating Bass guitar line and traditional vocals.

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    Sargeist - Feeding the Crawling Shadows (2014)

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    After blowing away the Black Metal scene with their 2010 masterpiece “Let the Devil In”, Sargeist finally returns with an even more visceral and punishing release with “Feeding The Crawling Shadows”. Led by Shatraug, of Horna fame, this album combines the raw and decadent feeling of early 90’s Black Metal releases with the current progression of the genre in a 10-track package that will leave your ears buzzing for days.

    Blasting the listener since the first riff of “Feeding The Crawling Shadows”, the opener track, the band delivers a raw and unfiltered look into the depths of hell with their crushing sound. Being very raw and aggressive, the band delivers punishing music without giving the listener that feeling of trying too hard that most BM reek of these days. This is easily seen in the demoralizing “In Charnel Dreams” and “Unto The Undead Temple”.

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    Frozen Ocean – Natt Over Meg (2013)

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    Completing Frozen Ocean’s ‘Norse’ trilogy, today we have the raw and decadent “Natt Over Meg”. With 33 minutes of raw and barbaric Black/Punk Metal split into 16 tracks, Vaarwel nicely pays homage to traditional Black Metal with a solid onslaught of instrumental tracks mixed in with a few filled with hateful snarls.

    As the album opens with “I”, Frozen Ocean delivers a Darkthrone like atmosphere with raw guitars and a very basic and rudimentary exposition of the genre. The punkish drumming is very prevalent through the release. The whirlwind velocity of the band in this release is what gives the music a bigger authentic feeling, and the instrumentals like “II”, “IV”, “VIII”, “XII” and “XV” perfectly capture this violence and primitive riffing.

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    Ishtar – From The Gates (2013)

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    Delivering a very unique EP, today we have Ishtar and their debut release “From The Gates”. Hailing from France, this six-piece band merges Black/Death Metal with a hefty dosage of atmospheric elements and passages to create a very unique sounding release. With the French Metal scene gaining more and more exposure over the years, Ishtar is one of those bands that deserve to be talked about.

    After the typical intro track, “Invading Empire” delivers a very unique mixture of Black and Death Metal elements, similar to bands like Kataklysm and older acts like Your Shapeless Beauty (minus the Avant-garde elements). In this track, the band explodes into a very melodic section (around the middle of the song) that has a nice experimental vibe to it and explored their atmospheric power.

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    Azziard – Vésanie (2014)

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    The French extreme Metal scene has been quickly growing in number of quality bands in the last few years. From the likes of Merrimack to Glaciation, tons of bands are emerging with excellent quality. Enter Azziard, a Parisian band ready to steamroll the scene with their savage Black/Death Metal combination and their sophomore release “Vésanie”.

    Pummeling through a no BS intro titled “Allégorie”, the band fully explodes into action with the blistering “Disjonction”. Mixing old school BM riffing attacks with modern production values and a hectic pace, Azziard opens this release with a commanding brutality and engages the listener since the first minute. “De lumière, D'Obscurité” and “Sur La Toile” help establish the band’s crushing onslaughts with vicious guitar work, ripping vocals, and monumental drumming.

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    Beast Within – Adversity/Servitude (2014)

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    Being released in a limited run of 500 vinyl copies, today we have Canada’s old school Black/Death Metal juggernauts Best Within and their two song 7”. Filled with filthy and hateful sound, this release showcases the band’s worship for acts like Celtic Frost and Pentagram.

    The “Adversity” side of things features super catchy riffs, reminiscent of current Black’n’Roll bands but with that extra spunk of older acts. The pace is quite mellow and the vocalist’s snarls are perfect for this kind of music. As “Servitude” rolls in, the band consolidates their sound to be quite punishing and old school, but with their own type of sickness. The guitar work is quite powerful and the bass guitar really stands out in this last track.

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