1. Aube de
1837 2. Spectre
de la rébellion 3. Là où
nous allons 4. Par la
bouche de mes canons 5. Le sang
des héros 6. Forêt
d'automne 7.
Vespérales 8. Le
dernier voyage
This is
the fourth full length album from the Québec based black metal band Forteresse. This release sees the band
comprised of Moribond, Matrak, Fiel and Athros return in the bands tenth year
active with this stunning album.
After the
ambient intro track Aube de 1837 the
album kicks fully into gear with the instantly goose bump raising track Spectre de la rebellion, which still
stands as my favourite track on the album even after three listens. This track
sets the standard of what we can expect for the most part on the rest of the
album, long cold howling riffs, powerful blast beats that even Marduk would be envious of, and raw
vocals interjected with occasional spoken word verse and some clean choral
vocals.
This album
walks a strange tightrope between projects like Lascar and Algor and
projects like Marduk and Dark Funeral creating a seamless blend
of near depressive and atmospheric riffs with harsh blast beats and savage
vocals. I think that because this album sits somewhere in the middle of these
two styles it is very easy to get lost in it and pick out numerus positive elements.
I highly recommend
this album and Forteresse as a band,
I further recommend the band’s acclaimed 2007 EP Traditionalisme for a sound that clearly begins to set out the
bands path towards this excellent release. Stop reading this and go and listen
to the album!
Archgoat are a Finnish death/black metal
band originally formed in 1989 by founding members “Ritual Butcherer” and “Lord
Angelslayer”. Despite the band being formed in 1989 they didn’t release a full length
album until 2006, this is partly due to the fact that the band essentially vanished
form the black metal scene in 1993 and didn’t remerge until the release of
their 2005 EP Angelslaying Black Fucking
Metal. This EP was actually made up of martial originally recorded for a
never finished 1993 album onNecropolis
Records that was abandoned due to disagreements between the studio and the band.
1. Invocation
(Instrumental)
2. Angel
of Sodomy
3. Lord of
the Void
4. Dawn of
the Black Light
5. Luciferian
Darkness
6. Desecration
7. Black
Crusade
8. Whore
of Bethlehem
9. Grand
Marshall of the Black Tower
10. Hammer
of Satan
The band’s
first album (Whore of Bethlehem) was
released in 2006 and features Lord Angelslayer returning to provide bass and brutality
with his vocals, Ritual Butcher on Guitars
and for the first time on any Archgoat
release “Sinisterror” of the band Torture
Killer on Drums.
Almost
right from the get go this album feels like it has something to prove, the
albums sound is aggressive, crushing, oppressive and downright savage at times. Each track
is an all-out blitzkrieg on the listener and seems to almost actively try to brutalize
you in any way possible.
The musicianship
on this album isn’t that impressive to be honest, it’s nothing we haven’t heard
before, and it’s not even that original in terms of older Archgoat material, and it is certainly not technical. However, the
album seems to thrive upon its raw and rough aggression that is never polished,
it seems to be able to take this lack of technicality and beat you to death
with it.
The
highlight of the album for me personally though was the stunning, and almost
inhuman vocal work of Lord Angelslayer, his vocals added a new layer of brutality
to the albums sound that almost eclipsed all other elements.
Overall
this is a superb and highly motivated album with one sole purpose, to fucking annihilate
the listener.
Tracklist:
1. Intro:
3rd Invocation 2.
Apotheosis of Lucifer 3.
Tribulation of the King of Worms 4. Goat
and the Moon 5.
Sodomator of the Doomed Venus 6. The
Light-Devouring Darkness 7. Blessed
in Beast's Blood 8. Worms
Born of Martyrdom 9.
Fornicated Messiah 10. The
Dawn of the Antichrist
The Light-Devouring Darkness was released in 2009 and see’s the
same line-up from Whore of Bethlehem return
to once again take up their roles in the filth and hatred that is an average Archgoat album.
Unlike the
kind of slightly disorganised, low-fi sound that we heard on theWhore
of Bethlehem album
this release seems to put more of a focus upon the somewhat more technical musical
aspect of the band’s sound, as opposed to the mainly vocal and sewage driven sound
that the first full length provided. On this album we hear the vocals of Lord
Angelslyer put somewhat on a back pedal, this is to me at least of great detriment
to the album, as his vocal work is something truly stunning to behold.
Overall,
even though this is a more technically proficient album, and has more in the
way of traditional black and death metal structure, it doesn’t have the same pummelling
felling that the first album did, nor does it have the same kind of ‘something
to fucking prove’ kind of drive.
Tracklist:
1. Intro
(Left Hand Path)
2. Nuns,
Cunts & Darkness
3. The
Apocalyptic Triumphator
4. Phallic
Desecrator of Sacred Gates
5. Grand
Luciferian Theophany
6. Those
Below (Who Dwell in Hell)
7. Intro
(Right Hand Path) (Instrumental)
8.
Congregation of Circumcised
9.
Sado-Magical Portal
10. Light
of Phosphorus
11.
Profanator of the 1st Commandment
12. Funeral Pyre of
Trinity
The third
and currently final entry in the album discography of Archgoat is the still relatively new The Apocalyptic Triumphator which was released in January of 2015,
and once again saw the same line up return.
Considering
how I was little bit disappointed with The
Light-Devouring Darkness I was fairly apprehensive about the release of
this album last year, thankfully this album fulfilled my expectations, and surpassed
them, and considering this album was my second favourite album of 2015 that is
no exaggeration.
This album
manages to combine, and generally improve upon the best elements of both Whore of Bethlehem and The Light-Devouring Darkness. This
release delivers a constantly changing pace, with a very solid blend of low-fi
filth and sharp technicality, all backed by Lord Angelsleyer’s even more guttural
vocals. This release also features the best drum work I have heard from Archgoat to date, along with some very
dark ad heavy riffs, the best example of which is found the second and what I
think is the best track, Nuns, Cunts
& Darkness.
Overall I
think that this is the current pinnacle in Archgoat’s
career, and I just hope we don’t have to wait another six years for another
full length.
If you
have for any bizarre reason never listened to the foul assault that is the
music of Finland’s Archgoat and you
are a fan of bestial black metal or just plain old blackened death metal you
are missing out on something very special. If you are a fan of projects like Blasphemy, Bestial Warlust, Proclamation,
Abominator or Black Witchery you
will likely get a kick out of Archgoat.
1. In
Nomine Dei Nostri 2. זה נגמר
(Ze Nigmar) 3. Ἐλθὲ
κύριε (Elthe Kyrie) 4. Les
Litanies de Satan (Les Fleurs du Mal) 5. Ἄπαγε
Σατανά (Apage Satana) 6. Του
θάνατου (Tou Thanatou) (Nikos Xylouris cover) 7. For a
Voice like Thunder 8. Konx om
Pax 9. देवदेवं (Devadevam) 10. The
Four Horsemen (Aphrodite's Child cover)
This is
the new album from the Greek extreme metal duo Themis Tolis and Sakis Tolis who
make up Rotting Christ. Considering
how much this band’s sound has changed over the nearly three decades it has
been around I was not sure what to expect from this release, and I would be
lying if I said I was more than a little pessimistic about it, however, my
grumpy elitism and pessimism was thankfully misplaced.
The
overall feel of the album is that each track is some kind of monolithic ritual
to summon some kind of dark, ancient deity. And the method being used to summon
this being is incredibly sharp and very catchy riff work from Sakis Tolis,
along with powerful drum work and a superb mix of spoken word, Gregorian style
chant, throat singing and some good old fashioned semi clean death metal vocals.
The albums overall sound is incredibly crushing and atmospheric in nature, and
is about as far as it’s possible to be from the kind of sound we heard on the band’s
first demo Leprosy of Death back in
1988.
In my
opinion the best track’s on this album are the second track Ze Nigmar and the ninth trackDevadevam,
which features
some fucking sitar playing for crying out loud! However this whole album should
be listened to as one piece, as once broken down into tracks some of the power
and drive that the album delivers is lost.
Overall I think
that this album, despite all the shit it has been getting from the mainstream
metal press, is pretty damn excellent. It doesn’t lose focus, and concludes
very powerfully with a great Aphrodite's
Child cover. I highly recommend this album to fans of later Rotting Christ material and to most
black and death metal fans who like to have some experimentation of their
albums.
1.
Ruin 2.
Silhouettes of an Imprisoned Mind 3. Faces
of Unreality
This is
the debut release from the Netherlands based atmospheric black metal duo Witte Wieven which is comprised of Carmen
Raats providing vocals, bass, guitars and samples, along with Sarban Grimminck
providing drums and further samples.
Despite
this only being a 15 minute EP, the band really manages to cram a lot of
interesting material in. Over the course of the EP we hear often droning and dissonant
riff work, which shifts into powerful melodic playing that gives the record movement
and pace. We also here the stunning vocals of Carmen Raats, who provides
ghostly classical clean vocal work that perfectly complements the more
atmospheric, dissonant parts of the EP. The only thing perhaps a little out of
place on this release is the volume of the drums. It seems as though in certain
parts on the EP the riffs and vocals are fighting to be heard over the drums, however
this is likely an issue with mixing and less a direct intention of the band.
Overall
this is a really solid, purposeful and swift little release from a very
promising project. This is release is definitely worth a listen for fans of atmospheric
black metal and I think that the Witte
Wieven project is something that will gain attention in the future.
1.
Diavolos Rising 2. Come to
Salem 3. Hail
All Evil 4. Piss in
Holy Water 5. You
Lived, Now Die! 6.
Baptized in Vomit 7.
Demonwhore 8. Curse,
Bleed, Die 9.
Totencorpse 10. Death
Metal
This is
the debut album from the recently formed Greek blackened death/thrash band Diavolos. The band is comprised of Tasos
Danazoglou (formally of Electric Wizard)
on vocals,Nik
Angelopoulos and Bill El providing guitar work, Taneli Jarva on bass and K.
Savvi on drums.
This album
originally escaped my radar upon its release late last year, but thankfully it
came to my attention in a hail of bullet belts and leather. This album has a
perfect sound that pays homage to early Slayer,
early Sodom, Power From Hell, Sarcofago
and even Nunslaughter. The band’s
sound is often crushingly fast and powerful, and sometimes slow and purposeful,
however it is constantly backed by the raw rasping vocals of Tasos Danazoglou,
chainsaw guitars and machine gun drum work.
In just 32
minutes this album tears out your eardrums, reaches into your head and replaces
your brain with a filth driven, speed spewing engine of absolute evil. This is
a perfect album for fans of the golden age of early black, death and thrash who
want to relive the moshing glory of old. I cannot recommend this album highly enough.
1. Passage
I 2. Passage
II 3. Passage
III 4. Rest
I 5. Passage
IV 6. Passage
V 7. Rest
II 8. Passage
VI 9. Passage
VII 10.
Passage III
This is
the first full length from the underground raw black metal project Sanguine Relic which is based in the
USA, this is the projects third overall release to date, despite contributing
an untitled track to a split earlier this year for their label Defiled Light.
From the
moment this album began I thought I must have made a mistake, and rather than
listening to an album from 2015 I had somehow put on a broken black metal cassette
from 1990. This is some of the rawest most visceral black metal I have heard recorded
in a very long time, this album is able to hold its own against almost any raw
black metal album from the 90’s with its pounding drums, sawing guitars and
screaming vocals that have to be heard to be comprehended.
The
production quality on this album is simply non-existent, it must have been recorded
by bouncing one cassette into another to build up the albums layers into what ultimately
became a stunning opus of cold, dark, raw vampire hatred of the kind we have
not heard since the early works of Mütiilation. I highly recommend this album to any fans of raw black metal, but be aware this is not for everyone.
1.
Glimpses of Sorrow pt.1 2. Glimpses
of Sorrow pt.2 3.
Glimpses of Sorrow pt.3
This is
the new EP from the recently formed but prolific Russian one man black metal
project Is, the project is helmed by Nøkken.
Being
still fairly unfamiliar with the Is
project I didn’t really know what to expect when I gave this EP a listen. So I
was pleasantly surprised by the variation throughout the record. All the drum
and guitar work is very clear, crisp and has good pace, this is contrasted with
raw vocals that are mostly comprised of screaming cries. However almost exactly
half way through the EP a new range of vocals are introduced, these are much
deeper and resemble death growls more than anything. Once the second range of
vocals are introduce the EP switches between the two creating a sound that
doesn’t become dull and continues to complement increasingly good riff work.
It can be
argued that leaving aside the deeper range of vocals this is a very basic, very
uninventive black metal record. However I do think that the changing pace and
use of slower more ambient, acoustic and atmospheric parts on the record give
it enough of its own style to dispel such claims. It also effectively builds
pace until it delivers a rounded and well-crafted conclusion.
Overall I think
this is a good release, and I think that the Is project will continue to deliver very solid black metal
throughout the rest of this year.
1.
Wilderness 2.
Atlas 3. Regions
of Light 4. Last
Sea
This is
the brand new third release, and first full length from the independent one man
Chilean depressive, atmospheric blackgaze/black metal project Lascar. The project is helmed by Gabriel
Hugo, who provides all instrumentation and vocal work. This release is the much
anticipated follow up to the superb EP Depths
from 2015, which I both bought and reviewed.
Considering
how much I enjoyed the projects last release I was a little nervous as to whether
a full length album would be work as well, thankfully I need not have worried.
This entire album comes together extremely well with a magnificent combination
of intense droning drums and guitars, slow and elegant atmospheric interludes
and tortured vocals that project a tortured lament for the natural world.
This album
sets out clear and precise intentions, and follows through with them, the album
rarely compromises on the droning wall of sound that is created by the distant
riff work, but when it does it does so with a slow and melodic rhythm that makes
the impact of the more abrasive parts of the album all the more affecting.
My
personal favourite track on this release is the last track, Last Sea it brings the album together
well and leaves the listener wanting more. Overall this is another great
release from Lascar and it makes me
very excited for what we might see from this project later this year.
This is
the first EP from the Indian two man harsh noise, blackened death metal band Tetragrammacide, the project is
comprised of ‘Uragnostic Eliminator’ and ‘M.Opium’.
Have you
ever tried to tune a worn out broken down old radio set to a channel, but
instead all you get is abrasive static? Well if you have, just add a healthy
chunk of bizarre esoteric atomic based cosmic Satanism and some drums and you
have a pretty good description of this EP.
I should
just point out here and now, unlike a lot of people I have nothing against
harsh noise as a genre, and frankly I think it serves a purpose in trying to challenge
what can really be called music. So I was pleasantly surprised that a blend of
black metal, harsh noise and grinding death metal would work so well. This is a
blend I have only really come across once before in the music of the band Satanic Abortion who sound extremely similar
to Tetragrammacide.
This EP
features, as the title suggests, sonically indecipherable instrumentation and
vocals that blend into a swirling vortex of misanthropy and hate of that kind
that could even put Revenge to shame
in terms of its nihilism. To really be able to sit back and listen to this EP
you have to be in a state of mind that doesn’t want metal, that doesn’t want familiarity,
instead you just want to be fucking destroyed. Most people will hate this, and that’s
fine, but I personally think that this is a stunning release that really stretches
the boundaries of what can really be considered as blackened music.
1. Deadsex
2. Fresh
Flesh 3. The
Last Supper 4. Tower
of Tortured Ones 5.
Interlude 6. Charnel
This is
the second demo from the very short lived French Les Légions Noires black metal
band Black Murder which was formed of
‘Vorlok Drakksteim’ on bass and vocals, ‘Vordb’ providing drum work and ‘Wlad
Drakkstein’ on guitars. Both Vorlok Drakksteim and Wlad Drakkstein are both
former members of famedLes
Légions Noires black metal project Vlad
Tepes.
Being well
aware of the reputation for the production of incredibly raw black metal that
the Les Légions Noires period had I was prepared for what this demo would throw
at me, which turned out to be six tracks of pure hatred.
What the
demo lacks in originality, or even technical skill for that matter, it makes up
for in unrepentant ferocity with buzzsaw guitars, powerful drumming and vocals
that honestly cannot be explained in words. Surprisingly this demo also manages
to create a rather unnerving atmosphere at times, similar to that found in the
work of projects like Silencer.
This is by
no means the best that French black metal has to offer, but it is still well
worth a listen for fans of true cold raw black metal who like their vocals as
cold and snowy as a week old corpse in the Arctic Circle.
