Have you ever longed for a cold stream on a hot day? Fresh air after rain? Perhaps the fourth album from Italian blackgaze shapeshifters, Svnth, will be what you seek. Lady Inksterium certainly thinks that flower fields everywhere should be in danger. But frolicking is not a crime!
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The Infernal Deceit – The True Harmful Black Review
If there is one period and sound in metal history that gets Anti-Peat going like a small kid in a sweet shop, it’s 1990s Sweden. But can you get too much of a good thing? Join Anti-Peat as he tries to eat some German cuisine consisting of salty Swedish fish with a side of meatballs.
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Istapp – Sól Tér Sortna Review
When Anti-Peat saw a slew of people recommending melodic black metal of a cold and wintry nature, he had to stapp and take a look. Yes, that’s how he ended up pressing anti-stapp on Sól Tér Sortna by Istapp. That translates to pressing play. If you’d like us to stapp with the stapping, please read on.
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Cradle of Filth – The Screaming of the Valkyries Review
The Screaming of the Valkyries is a well-executed blast of catchy, escapist bombast that stands up to multiple listens. In particular, Anti-Peat can’t help but think how after many reviews complaining about overambitious writing and poor structure, Cradle of Filth’s songwriting drags his attention back time after time. The thing is while he’s a sucker for catchy, escapist bombast. Have you figured out what escapist bombast means to you yet, dear reader? You might just need to to get down with the CoF.
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Délirant – Thoughteater Review
Enigmatic black metal entity D.B (Negativa, Hässlig) has returned with Thoughteater, his second album under the Délirant moniker. Mixing nightmare atmosphere with blackened dissonance, Délirant sounds like a fever-dream combination of Andavald and Deathspell Omega with a few dashes of unsettling ambience. Has Cosmo found yet another reason to sleep with his lights on?
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Ereb Altor – Hälsingemörker Review
One of the best trends in metal right now is the recent spate of black-trad hybrids. It’s a welcome revival of a combination with a long history that makes a ton of sense as their shared love of drama goes together like blood and ice. Ereb Altor know what I’m talking about — they take their sanguine cocktails on the rocks just like Anti-Peat.
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Tubal Cain – Slime Abyss Review
Black metal used to be about icy feelings — depression, hate , borderless self-expression. Scuttlegoat, for one, is quite glad that black metal musicians have discovered that having material that can actually be grabbed on to is beneficial. He wholly welcomes the rise of blackened traditional metal, which Tubal Cain and Slime Abyss fall into nicely. What once was kvvl is now kvlt again.
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Lord Agheros – Anhedonia Review
Anhedonia clearly stretches the black metal genre tag a very long way. Yes, you can hear practices inherited from black metal bands in Lord Agheros’ work, but they’re all quite divorced from the traditional framework. Yet without using that genre tag, without expressing a desire to belong to that movement, I’d have maybe missed this and that’d have been a shame.
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Sabhankra – Nocturnal Elegies Review
Album names shape expectations, and Nocturnal Elegies suggested something atmospheric. Sabhankra’s mix of melodic black metal, folk, and even thrash reinforced that idea — but they defied expectations.
Sometimes, it’s good to be wrong.
Unlock the Crypts
Crypts of the Unknown: Khonsu – The Xun Protectorate
