Vølus is a one man blackened death metal act hailing from South Carolina. The sole member, Justin Vølus, presents us with this first unholy offering titled Festering Anti-Cosmic Wound a torturous and gnarly twenty-seven minutes. Somewhere in between Portal‘s Lovecraftian themes and Cattle Decapitation’s more grindier tendencies, its a very brutal and oppressive mixture of…
Its not often I hear of bands coming from the east, Kushinagar, India in particular, which is rather fascinating seeing as how that is a rather popular pilgrimage site for Buddhists. So when I saw this band cross my feed I was highly interested, the blood red cover featuring a statue of Buddha on it…
Crawling forth from the US underground scene Canidpresents us with their third release after a four year hiatus titled Saint Serpentine. This is a cryptic, obscured and raw sounding black metal album that approaches you in a slow almost doom like pace. When looking back on the duo’s previous releases, it keeps many of the…
Hailing from the eastern underground Lotus of Darknessis the only black metal band I am aware of hailing from Thailand of all places. Their cultural roots show within their second release, Sompas-Naga,a mournful album deep in the black metal tradition. Though their folk roots flare, with eastern style guitars that are present all through out….
Crashing onto this Earth from the darkest parts of space, Solar Warden presents us with their self titled debut album of dark and cryptic origins. The harsh alien like noises help create a very industrial and futuristic aesthetic that is rather fresh for your typical Tolkien or history inspired black metal. This album is almost…
Brewing in the underground of Boise, Idaho comes the band Barn, a five-piece death metal band taking heavy influence from bands of the past. Combining the clean and creative riffs of Death, the jazz influence of Atheist, and the fury of Bolt Thrower, all complete in a tight and modern package that would make any…
Hailing from Slovakia, Domkirke Av Plagerbrings us their seventh offering to the abyss. A dark, twisted, and droning album with very minimal instrumentation save for a heavily layered and distorted guitar, repeating melodies and thick atmosphere. While it carries the branding of black metal, to me, its a bit beyond that label. It feels much…
This is probably one of the most outlandish albums I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to. Another addition to the Moonlight Cypress Archetypes label, Spintria, is a self proclaimed free jazz/improvised black metal fusion with heavy emphasis on drone, noise, and other chaotic tendencies. This album is not for the faint of heart, for…
Hailing from Portland Oregon, Elijah Knutsen presents us with his latest release Broken Guitars Vol. 1. A harsher and more melodic take on his usual ambient productions. I’ve talked about his release earlier this year Pink Dream, a transient and wonderfully ethereal album with sounds full of texture and color, its a rather beautiful piece….
By this time everyone knows of the legendary Ukranian black metal band Drudkh. What with their wonderfully beautiful melodies and melancholic riffs that transport you back to a pre-modern time in the old forests and steppe lands of Ukraine. But there is one album in particular I wish to talk about and that is their…