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.
1. Black
Sun 2. Empty Forest 3. Newborn 4. Dying
Light 5. Rise
and Fall
This is
the second release from the Russian depressive atmospheric black metal project Deliverance Lost. This is the second EP
from the project this year, the first being Tears
Of White Raven which I reviewed four months ago, and still remains my favourite
EP of 2015.
This EP
was released two days ago at the time of writing this, and it is safe to say
that this was an anticipated release for me. The album starts with the track Black Sun which feels as though it is a
clear continuation from the projects last release, with its howling vocals,
powerful drum work and the use of the same type of ambient static that a gave Tears Of White Raven a very unique atmosphere.
This track is soon followed by my personal favourite track on the album Empty Forest, this track is an instrumental
and features the best drum and keyboard work on the entire EP, it has a superb
atmosphere of desperation, and isolation which is cleverly conveyed. Newborn, the third track on the album
lacks the atmospheric quality of the of the first two, instead replacing it
with more great howling vocal work and gloom ridden riffs to create a pure
depressive black metal track, that is fairly different from the other tracks on
this EP. The final two tracks on the EP are Dying
Light and Rise and Fall sadly
these tracks don’t really musically bring that much in the way of either
atmospheric or depressive sounds, instead the two tracks are pretty dull and a
little drab.
This brings
me to my problem with this EP. Even the best track on the release (Empty Forest) suffers from a loss of
purpose and direction around half way through, and sadly this is present on all
of the tracks. The first three tracks all have extremely strong beginnings, but
suffer at the half way point until the end of the song with a loss of drive,
and this really affects the listenability of the EP.
Personally
comparing this to Tears of White Raven
is very difficult as that EP is almost unbeatable when it comes to modern
depressive atmospheric black metal in my opinion. Therefore it is clear that
this EP does not match up to the projects first release, but to look at it on
its own terms without comparison elsewhere it is a pretty decent release from
what is still a very new project. Support the project and download the EP here
1.
Separation I 2.
Separation II 3.
Separation III 4.
Separation IV 5.
Separation V
Side B -
Steadfast Resilience
6.
Steadfast Resilience VI 7.
Steadfast Resilience VII 8.
Steadfast Resilience VIII 9.
Steadfast Resilience IX 10.
Steadfast Resilience X
This is
the fourth full length album from the independent North American based solo naturalistic/isolationist
black metal project Sapthuran which
is helmed by Patrick T. Hall. This particular album was released some months
ago back in August, but it happened to escape my attention until now.
The album
features a strong mix of consistently powerful drum work and crisp atmospheric
riffs which are backed by what I think is the albums strongest feature, which
is the vocal work. The vocals never take front and centre stage, instead they
seem to ominously dwell in the dark sonic reassess of the album, providing a
blend of animalistic rage and slow calculated precision. The album also
features some interesting usage of classical and instrumental instruments,
along with keyboards, that when used within the album, make an impact and give
the sound a little more depth and variation.
My only
real issue with this album is its use of ambiance between tracks, after what
felt like every track an indescribable blend of noise would begin, never being
the same after every track, but always failing to provide anything to the album’s
overall sonic vision. One particular piece of ambiance that sounded like a
prolonged recording of a dog whining was so annoying I was genuinely relived
when it was over.
However,
overall this is very good album despite its issues with ambient noise as in the
grand scheme of things this can be overlooked as there is far better things to
focus upon within the album.
1. Забытые
ручьи (Forgotten Creeks) 2.
Последняя ночь перед бурей (Last Night before the Storm) 3. Ночью,в
поле (At Night, in the Field) 4. Тайна
тумана (The Mystery of Fog) 5. Сияние
(Shining of...) 6.
Навстречу зиме (Towards the Winter) 7.
Неизведанные тропы (Unexplored Trails)
This is
the fourth full length from the prolific independent Russian one man atmospheric
black metal/ambient project Shadowland.
This is the third full length to come from the project in 2015, and is again
helmed by GorDan. I previously reviewed the projects third album Through the Curtain of Falling Leaves which
you can check out here.
This album
like its predecessor is very synth focused, with much of the sonic driving
force being provided by the very sharp and light playing of GorDan. This album
however also has some very melodic, and at times very powerful drum work that accompanies
the synth very well for much of the first half of the album, it does however
decrease in the albums latter half. Vocals are not very prevalent on this
record, although when they are used, they are harsh, raw screams that clearly have
some powerful emotion behind them, or a soft almost spoken work like chant that
also conveys great sadness.
The use of
ambience and samples is also well done, especially with the use of bird calls
(mostly ravens from what I could tell), these provide a certain natural gloom
that gradually builds throughout the album, and is helped by the fact that instead
of distinct riffs the guitar work on this album is more like howling wind in
the background.
I
personally think that this is the best release from the Shadowland this year, and is well worth a listen for fans of
depressive atmospheric black metal and ambient black metal alike.
1.
... 2. Alcohol
and Necropunk 3. Hope
Stings Eternal 4. This
World Is Weakening 5. Fascist
Moron 6. The
Prisoner 7.
Unattainable Ideals 8. A
Matrix Made of Shit 9. In the
Absence of Your Saviour 10.
Calculated Tyranny 11.
Hack 12.
Troglodyte 13.
Delight in the Dying of the Light 14.
Archaic Beliefs 15. Docile
Subjects 16. Mean
World 17. The
Eulogy of a Crushed Romantic
This is
the fourth and most recent album from the UK based blackened crust punk/grindcore
band Fukpig.
I wouldn’t
normally take the time to review a blackened crust grind album, but I had to
make an exception when it came to this band, firstly because their from my
hometown, and I firmly believe in supporting your local extreme music scene,
and secondly because they have managed to create an album that through pure
rage and sonic fury can kill a man at ten paces.
After a
short and sweet intro, the album kicks into gear with a sequence of the best
tracks on the album (2-6) that left me unable to predict what was coming next
due to a relentless blend of raw vocals, powerful drum work and some very crusty
riffs that just manage to poke their heads through the medley of hatred. One
feature of the album that did come as a surprise was the use of operatic and orchestral
samples as backing on some tracks, this gave them a very sharp and crisp edge
that allowed for some variation throughout the album.
Overall this is an absolutely
great example of a genre blend that has come together and succeeded perfectly
in delivering its intensions, which in the case of Fukpig are probably a series of firm kicks to the face.
