Artwork by Neheroth Early this year, I reached out to Alex of Russian black metal act Икотка (Ikotka). A brooding and atmospheric metal act that I’ve reviewed before. The band’s sound really stuck out to me and quickly became one of my favorites out of Russia, and the mysterious yet personal take in the music…
KOMMANDO BAPHOMET – Under the Deathsign
Hailing from the underground two executioners hailing from Portugal present us with their blasphemous offering Under the Deathsign. This is a blackened death metal release filled with crushing guitars, punishing drums and hellish vocals that satisfy all war metal needs. There’s no denying the uncompromising take that his band has and the dark enjoyments that…
Dramanduhr – Tramhor
Hailing from Sicily comes a unique metal release under the banner of Dramanduhr titled Tramhor. This is an album done completely in a fabricated language dubbed ‘Dahrmonium’. On first listen it sounds like a strange mixture of Egyptian, Greek, ancient Iberian and Latin combined in a way that works musically but at the end of…
SkyThala – Boreal Dispair
The latest release from Moonlight Cypress Archetypes, SkyThala brings a more orchestral and symphonic approach to black metal taking heavy influence from famed Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. There’s a strong sound created here and stands out from the rest of the MCA catalog. There’s real deep intensity not only within the metal passages but the…
droneroom – Easy Payday
A far cry from the typical Moonlight Cypress Archetypes release, Blake Edward Conley who goes by Droneroom brings us the latest release under that name, Easy Payday, which is also a far cry from his typical releases as well. For those who haven’t heard his previous works, they’re typically a twangy, western style guitar playing…
Vacuous – Dreams of Dysphoria
Coming hot off the trails from their demo release, UK based death metal band Vacuous presents us with their massive debut release Dreams of Dysphoria. This is an incredibly crushing death metal album with some touches of doom thrown in there to create a punishing and incredibly heavy album that certainly keeps the spirit of…
Ephilexia – Skeleton War
Hungarian based musician, Ephilexia, brings us their latest release from a string of solo albums known as Skeleton War. This is a heavily bass driven math-rock album with heavy emphasis on atmosphere and progressive build ups. You may have come across their bass playing with Silent Island, a post-rock project as well as their take…
Chaos Over Cosmos – A Dream if Ever There Was One
This is the third release from international metal act, Chaos Over Cosmos, who’s track record consists of intense, technically riffs, sci-fi synths, and plenty of mind numbing guitar solos. If you’re somewhat familiar with their previous releases, you won’t be too caught off guard here. A lot of the same characteristics are there, and the…
Черновство
Hailing from the cold Russian wastes comes Черновство (Chernovstvo), a raw and malignant black metal act who’s discography consists of three short demo releases with short atmospheric passages, raw and abrasive guitars, drums, and shrill vocals that drill into the listeners psyche. All three of these releases were released this year, 2022, and really makes…
Karhunvartijan Tyhjiö – Vainaantuoma
After a two year wait, the Finnish black metal band, Karhunvartijan Tyhjiö, returns with their fourth release, Vainaantuoma. A rabid, punk influenced black metal release with plenty of raw attitude and low fidelity goodness in the production. Taking influence from other fellow Finnish bands, they fuse a lot of melody in these tracks, creating for…