Death does not determine the entire path of the spirit but instead acts as a doorway beyond the ..read more

Setting their high-set gaze upon the withering landscapes below Angers, France-based atmospheric black metal troupe TOUR D’IVOIRE produce ..read more

Returning for another stretch into the dismal expanse of the afflicted skull Utrecht, Netherlands-based avant-garde/dissonant death/black metal quartet ..read more

Vanguard to the myriad consciousnesses, attuned to the projections of all three spiritual planes, and in conjure of ageless ideology Atlanta, Georgia-based black metal quartet VIMUR seeks commune with the primordial nothingness in depiction of the corporeal and psychic wars eternally waged against the illusory self-importance of man. Their own Luciferian current aimed to strike out the second sun, ‘The Timeless Everpresent‘, arrives charged with frenzied energy as a fourth full-length album should, slung with chest abroad and weaponry in hand by way of the warrior’s path and purpose. Though th ..read more

Entranced by their own erosion and positing destruction as a chance for renewal the lapping waves of time against stone fixate Victoria, British Colombia-based black metal trio LIMINAL SHROUD as the forces of nature are embodied within their work, pressing on as devourers of the coastline wave-after-wave on this accomplished third full-length album. ‘Visions of Collapse‘ celebrates the futility of the organism in the wake of these forces’ persistence, accepting the nihil in mind while providing catharsis within this ruminant work. To suit this mood of dimming light and dire acceptance they’ve ..read more

Although something is lost in translation between an at-times serious tone and a few choices made in random passing on this debut full-length album from Leipzig, Germany-based black metal duo MÝRDAL there is some interesting enough conviction in their work to suggest personae will follow this promising enough starting point. That is to say that our voyage to Hell via ‘Helvíti‘ is brief, unfocused yet charming in its rattling attack to start per stamping beats and strikes of sleekened dissonant-isms before an odd depressive black tonal shift obscures the finale of its tirade. Though there are p ..read more

Having stepped from point to point without having set any particular expectation of what might come next beyond some manner of sentimental atmospheric black metal this latest mLP from Ukrainian project WINDSWEPT yet has the distinct touch of the author all over its work yet virtually no other vestigial weight set upon its craft. Released with no real pretense and in four droning yet semi-melodic stretches ‘Der eine, wahre König‘ feels like a new direction and a different mode for an entity always willing to experiment toward the intended effect. Though we’ll likely get little to no context on ..read more

Outlined in backward trailing smoke and stippled with the flames of distant torchlight their fortress settles in its valley as grim and gray as a mountain among mountains, fuming in the distance as we pan into the painstakingly lit scenery afforded by England-based ‘epic’ atmospheric black metal project FELLWARDEN whose latest opus introduces the rugged sword-and-buckler level fantasy backdrop which now replaces their contemplative naturalist vision. Writ in direct tribute to the fantasy literature of author David Gemmell, this third and latest release from the band is a chance for a strike at ..read more

Having taken a step deeper within their cavernous realm of horrors and fallen into the disemboguement between a new, even more miserable stretch of their own personal lethe Finnish atmospheric black metal duo FLAIL apply machine-tortured hum to the ‘ready dismal of moan of their fixation on this second full-length album. ‘Within the Firths of Futility‘ flows downward as an underground river naturally would, slowly and coldly carving its path in stone as it takes the ear deeper into an unreal realm away from resistance. Slow-agonizing gloom illustrated by minimal elemental guidance and set fort ..read more

Vredens dag — As onlookers sink into irradiated unmarked graves on this day of wrath Swedish black metal trio LIFVSLEDA are the mouthpiece and the pulpit at Walpurgisnacht, stoic as heralds of death’s silent summon and messengers of all that would dissolve into fire under the gospel of Satan. The piece that would compound an already bleak vision, a triskelion of cloven hoof and coven in arcane spiritus, arrives with this third full-length album aimed at the restless dramatism of Scandinavian black metal ‘Evangelii härold‘ looks to the thunder of the mind, the morgue, the mausoleum, and calls f ..read more