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    Saturnalia Temple – To the Other (2015)

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    Finally being released in North America by The Ajna Offensive, Saturnalia Temple’s sophomore full-length “To the Other” arrives on April 7th, 2015. Having seen the band live at Stella Natura, we started following their unique Pyschedelic/Stoner Doom Metal since then. In this release the band further strengthens their presence with seven/eight tracks of punishing riffs and a very rich wall of sound.

    Pouncing at the listener with their opening track (that got sandwiched with the intro in the version of this album we reviewed), the band delivers savagely distorted riffs and hellish vocals. It is not until the next track, “To the Other”, that the band changes its attack approach to a more Stoner vibe with the underlying crunchy riffage that characterizes their style. Falling in from one type of trance to the next one, “Snow of Reason” nicely changes the pace thanks to some more engaged drums and a less oppressive guitar distortion.

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    The Grammers – Journey (2015)

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    Instantly a top contender for the catchiest and most engaging release of 2015, today we have Finland’s The Grammers and their release “Journey”. Delivering 11 tracks of vibrant Hard Rock, this band has a very playful and engaging sound that instantly grabs your attention.

    Expertly selected to kick off this release, “Journey” has a superbly engaging chorus section that will stick in your head for days. The track is quite moody and very well crafted, similar to the approach that Crimson Tears used to take in their music. As the band pummels through the catchy “Brother” and the superbly executed “Hey Mama”, we instantly notice the band’s very positive energy and great deal of fun they seem to have when delivering such lively songs.

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    A Forest of Stars – Beware the Sword You Cannot See (2015)

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    Delivering their most impressive offering to date, today we have A Forest of Stars (AFOS) and their fourth full-length release “Beware the Sword You Cannot See”. Further expanding their already very theatrical and unique sound, AFOS has crafted a very complex masterpiece filled with string instruments, solid percussions, and a very hearty foundation of Metal to pull everything together.

    Opening with the chaotic “Drawing Down the Rain”, has a very schizophrenic feeling that it only gets more bizarre as the release goes by… and we love it. The bands heavy riffing and pummeling drums lay the perfect foundation for the plethora of extra instruments and multiple vocal styles that this seven person outfit delivers. With a distinct feeling of getting lost in somebody’s dark mind, tracks like “Hive Mindless” and “Blaze of Hammers” continue punishing the listener with abstract sounds and very cinematic atmospheric elements.

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    Helrunar – Niederkunfft (2015)

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    Germany’s Helrunar is by far the least imaginative and most straightforward band in the Lopus Lounge stable of great musical acts. However, there are some decent moments and redeeming qualities that make this band good enough for us to review them over countless others we receive every day. Featuring eight track and around 56 minutes of music, this album marks the band’s first full-length release in nearly four year.

    The album’s opener, “Niederkunfft” nicely provides a window to the band’s musical approach and unluckily everything else will sound quite familiar. There are some nice chilling elements here and there like the creepy atmosphere and the closing of “Totentanz”, but the vanilla tracks like “Der Endkrist” leave a lot to be desired based on Prophecy productions/Lopus Lounge standards. Other pieces like the doomy “Devils, Devils Everywhere!” have nice riffs but some very silly passages that quickly reduce the listener’s desire to stay engaged in the music.

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    Crest of Darkness – Evil Messiah (2015)

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    Hailing from Norway, Crest of Darkness delivers us with their latest offering: “Evil Messiah” a 20-minute EP filled with the band’s signature old-school(ish) Black/Death Metal. Featuring 3 normal songs and a cover of Alice Cooper’s “Sick Things”, this release is quite entertaining and a good follow up to their 2013 release “In the Presence of Death”.

    Opening with the super catchy “Evil Messiah”, the band grabs your attention with a certain retro sound that is not very common these days. The main driver of this track is the crunchy guitar riffs that make it well suited for headbanging to it. Things get Thrashier with the intense “Armageddon”, a song that reminds us to old-school Thrash from the Bay area but with harsher vocals.

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    Uhriristi – Haudankylmä (2015)

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    Arriving from Finland via France’s Mortis Humanae label, today we have Uhriristi and their punishing anti-religion Black Metal. Delivering great quality Black Metal with light use of atmospheric elements, this band perfectly fits in the intersection of bands like Dimmu Borgir/Alghazanth and Horna/Satanic Warmaster. The perfect balance of keyboards/synths and blistering riffs/drums is what makes this band be more than your average BM outfit.

    Misleading the listener with the soft intro, “Kaivo” quickly explodes into a pummeling riffing onslaught that has a certain Horna-esque vibe to it. The band’s vocalist Rutto has some well suited pipes for this type of music. The band instantly reminded us of the older days of Dimmu Borgir/Old Man’s Child as “Routahauta” and “Haudankylmä” made their appearance. The band’s sound is quite compact and they have a certain old-school vibe that keeps their music fresh in terms of the current trends in Atmospheric/Melodic Black Metal.

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    Old Witch – Come Mourning Come (2014)

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    Finally reaching a wider audience, today we have Old Witch and their chilling debut full-length “Come Mourning Come”, re-released on Sun & Moon Records. With 36 minutes of aural savagery, this American band manages to release a highly dissonant and punishing release that will appeal to all fans of the intersection between Black/ Doom Metal / Noise / Drone.

    The album opens with the throbbing “Funeral Rain” and its thick droning sounds and hellish atmospheric keyboards. Like something straight out of the movie “Event Horizon”, this song sets a very sinister mood for the rest of the album. The band spares no expense and creates a truly bizarre and sickening atmosphere with “This Land Has Been Cursed” and “God ov Wolves”, expertly continuing their decadent musical spew through nearly the first half of this release.

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    Blaze of Sorrow – Fulgida Reminiscenza (2014)

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    Limited to 500 copies world-wide “Fulgida Reminiscenza” is a very emotional EP from one of the best bands of Sun & Moon Records: Blaze of Sorrow. In this five-track EP the band delivers more of a Neo-Folk/Neo-Classical release, but equally depressive and engaging as their 2012 breakout release “Echi”.

    Opening with the sound of waves as a backdrop in “Fulgida Reminiscenza”, the mood is set quite hypnotically with a very slow tempo and intoxicating acoustic guitars. Keeping up the Empyrium-esque vibe, “Transcendenza” slowly progresses from lush piano sections into some BM riffs that create a very unique wall of sound. The band’s ability to craft songs that slowly transform and keep the mellow tempo even when the heavy riffing is being used is Blaze of Sorrow’s best asset.

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    Closed Room / Lunacy / La Ville Des Rêves – Triangular Cinema (2014)

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    After mesmerizing us with their debut release Closed Room back in 2012, today we have Closed Room back in this very unique split with two other Belorussian bands that feature at least one member of Close Room in each of their lineups. With three tracks per band, we get a very diverse set of influences and very unique songs from all bands. Thanks to the heavy emphasis on atmosphere, this release is one that you will not forget so easily.

    Opening the first part we have Closed Room and their suspenseful atmospheric/Trip Hop track “Surrender”. This song creates a very dense atmosphere that is nicely contrasted by Morena’s vocals and the ethereal keys. The best song in this release (and possibly the first few months of the year for us) is the uber catchy “Dancing in the Dark”. Featuring a very perky mood and highly addictive guitars notes and beats, this is one song that will never leave your head. Things get a bit heavier with their rendition of Angelo Badalamenti’s Laura Palmer Theme from Twin Peaks. The band made this track their own with eerie atmospherics and creepy vocals/samples.

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    An Autumn for Crippled Children – The Long Goodbye (2015)

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    Greatly anticipated for 2015, An Autumn for Crippled Children’s fifth full-length release delivers in all possible levels and takes the band’s sound even further into the depths of depressive Post-Black Metal / Blackgaze. In “The Long Goodbye” the band hones in their skills to produce nine of the bleakest tracks they have ever written clocking in at 41 minutes of pure emotional rawness.

    The opening track, “The Long Goodbye” starts off with a hectic level of intensity with Shoegazy dreamy guitars and brilliant harsh vocals. The overall tone is quite melancholic, making this track a perfect mood setting piece for what is to come. On “Converging towards the Light” we jump into a bigger atmospheric vibe with very dramatic ambiance perfectly capped by the punishing vocals of Mchl. As “A New Form of Stillness” rolls by, we get a certain Synth-pop vibe going with a very interesting melodic passage.

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