LVME’s take on black metal draws broadly from the many traditions within it. The classic tremolo and blastbeat approach is used to release the pressure created by shimmering dissonance and mid-paced ritualistic melodies. LVME is easy to love.
Read moreDefying – Wadera Review
Is it black metal? Post metal? Prog metal? These are the important questions that Anti-Peat asks regarding what Poland’s Defying have done with Wadera, a horror film inspired concept album about revenge from beyond the grave. Don’t be a-scared-a of the Wadera!
Read moreBorknagar – Fall Review
Our Gator loves going on long hikes, especially when having the luck of finding a spot unoccupied by people where he can watch nature in its stillness and grandeur. Borknagar at their best manage to catch this feeling in music, if a bit more dramatically, their sound whipping between a raging storm and the calmest forest brook. You just might Fall for it too.
Read moreIhsahn – IHSAHN Review
At this point, Ihsahn needs little introduction. His work first with Emperor and then as a solo act has established him as one of black metal’s luminaries. His blackened and avant-garde approach to metal on IHSAHN straddles emotions. It’s by turns bombastic, melancholic, tense and angry—an excellent example of why Ihsahn is such a big deal.
Read morePonte del Diavolo – Fire Blades From The Tomb Review
Enter Ponte del Diavolo (Italian for Devil’s Bridge), a band that has been steadily releasing EPs since 2020 and have now ventured into the realm of their first LP. Inksterium jumped into this with no expectation and emerged from the experience utterly perplexed. This is a nation of people who seem to possess a unique grasp of religion, moody atmosphere, and the art of seamlessly blending these into music. We promise the toll is worth it.
Read moreCyberaktif – eNdgame Review
Sophomore Cyberaktif album eNdgame arrives with a ton of history resting on its shoulders, with some of its songs beginning life as a Skinny Puppy album that never saw release. Industrial history lesson from Metalligator to get this weekend started!
Read moreStygian Crown – Funeral for a King Review
Overall, I was not really sold on their debut, but Funeral for a King sees Stygian Crown return with significantly improved writing and performances, as they seem to lean into their death doom influence stronger than before. The amalgamation of death and epic doom tropes leads to a uniquely feeling album. But will it reign supreme in our Goat’s estimation?
Read moreGolden Core – Kosmos Brenner Review
Golden Core have shoved a lot of black metal influence into their work here. At their very best they use it as a violent cathartic contrast to follow up passages of head-nodding, rumbling stoner fare. Cosmos Tremmer makes a Kosmos Brenner!
Read moreGriffon – De Republica Review
Taking a decidedly anti-authoritarian and perhaps even antifascist perspective, each song here is about a different time period in history, with the prime focus being French history. Every track takes on a melancholic tinge, and can be considered laments, because nothing feels triumphant. What a Monday pick-me-up!
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