Style: melodic death metal, melodic black metal (mixed vocals) Recommended for fans of: Wintersun, Brymir, Inferi, Æther Realm Country: Canada Release date: 19 July 2024 Just over a year ago, I had the pleasure of reviewing Atavistia’s album Cosmic Warfare, and I heaped on joke after joke about how these guys are trying to fund their next sauna with how closely they followed in the footsteps of Wintersun; in the end, I made the bold claim that Cosmic Warfare was better than Time II could hope to be if only because it existed. But Wintersun somehow have an actual release date in a month’s time ..read more

Style: progressive-ish black metal (harsh vocals) Recommended for fans of: Enslaved, Dissection, FromSofware-themed metal Country: Ohio, United States Release date: 21 July 2024 Video games are in a bit of a dire state right now. I’m aware this is a music blog, but I rarely get to air my feelings out about these kinds of things to anyone who’s not my unwilling girlfriend or my even-less-willing regular friends. In the world of half-finished, open-world action games with tacked on RPG and crafting mechanics, Elden Ring stands supreme. FromSoftware has under-promised and over-delivered on just ..read more

Style: Atmospheric Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal (mixed vocals, mostly harsh) Recommended for fans of: Early Ulver, Uada, Later Agalloch, Spectral Wound Country: Ukraine Release date: 23 February 2024 I am famous for being egregiously late to consuming movies and TV shows. Just a few weeks ago, I finally decided to watch The Wicker Man (the 1970s Christopher Lee one, not the Nicholas Cage one, but that will come soon enough), which introduced me to the genre of folk horror. There is something so enticing and disturbing in its normality: there are few special effects, no beings borne from c ..read more

Genres: melodic black metal, symphonic black metal (mixed vocals) Recommended for fans of: Emperor, Dissection Country: Ohio, United States Release date: 24 November, 2023 Andy is wrong about many things, but he is especially wrong about one thing in particular. Black metal is not at its peak when it’s dissonant, noisy, and invoking “the sublime” or whatever. Black metal is at its peak when it makes me feel like I’m a Black Rider, crossing from Minas Morgul into the Shire in search of the One Ring. Riffs that evoke the feeling of being a Witcher hunting for the next monster to slay. An atmosp ..read more

Style: progressive metal, symphonic black metal, melodic death/black metal (mixed vocals) Recommended for fans of: Borknagar, Insomnium, Enslaved, Ne Obliviscaris, Opeth Review by: Sam Country: Israel Release date: 8 December, 2023 Of all places to be on earth right now, Israel would not rank among the happiest, but art finds a way to shine a light through even the darkest of circumstances, and progressive black metallers Winterhorde are back with a mythology driven concept album, Neptunian, for us to escape into. I was a huge fan of Underwatermoon and Maestro for its epic, diverse approach t ..read more

Style: progressive metal, melodic black metal (mixed vocals) Recommended for fans of: Ne Obliviscaris, Dissection, Moonsorrow Review by: Zach Country: Belarus Release date: 25 August, 2023 [EDITOR’S NOTE: now that it’s December and releases become less frequent, we’re going to start with covering cool things that slipped past us. As much as we want to be, we are not nearly omnipotent. This is the first review of many in an attempt to make up for that.] The coveted seal of Hyperfixation Album is not to be taken lightly. This is something I love so much, I’m willing to not only order it on viny ..read more

Style: prog black metal, melodic black metal, atmospheric black metal, folk black metal (harsh vocals) Recommended for fans of: Wolves in the Throne Room, Mare Cognitum Review by: Andy Country: Brazil Release date: 17 November 2023 Just when I thought Caio Lemos was moving uncomfortably far away from metal, he releases Vestígios, possibly his most effective foray into (mostly) pure black metal yet. What haven’t I said about Lemos and his various projects (Kaatayra, Bríi, Vauruvã, Bakt, Rasha, and now Vestígio)? For four years straight, he has, like clockwork, released an experimental black me ..read more

Style: technical death metal, melodic black metal, prog death metal (harsh vocals) Recommended for fans of: Dissection, Obscura, Beyond Creation, Inferi, Archspire Review by: Andy Country: Switzerland Release date: 13 October 2023 Counterpoint is unequivocally one of the most significant musical advancements in human history along with ordering the overtones and equal temperament. A single melody bears the weight of narrative in music; several interacting melodic lines (counterpoint) tell an exponentially more complex story, and most importantly, the concept stimulates my wrinkly, prog-loving ..read more

Style: Progressive/Atmospheric Black Metal (mixed, French vocals) Recommended for fans of: Thy Catafalque, Arkona (Russian one), Midnight Odyssey Review by: Sam Country: France Release date: 4 August, 2023 “Bedroom black metal musician” is one of metal’s most prominent stereotypes, and for good reason. Chances are big that for nearly every week of the past twenty years, you will find multiple releases by solo black metal projects. Often these are completely unremarkable, being either generic second wave worship or unlistenable experimental garbage. However, with quantity eventually comes qual ..read more

Style: Black Metal, Progressive Metal, Heavy Metal (“clean” vocals) Recommended for fans of: Bathory (Blood Fire Death era), Arcturus, Iron Maiden, Immortal Review by: Sam Country: Finland Release date: 28 October, 2022 It’s always nice to review a band you’ve reviewed before. Three years ago, I found out about Antipope through Apostle of Infinite Joy which, well, gave me quite a lot of joy. It had a unique combination of black metal riffs, prog metal drumming and song structures, and heavy metal-infested melodic leads and hook-based songwriting. All while having vocals that sounded like Dave ..read more