Philadelphia symphonic death metal band Malphas release a new concept album, Portal. Malphas is a melodic death metal band from Philadelphia (not to be confused with the melodic black metal band of the same name from Michigan). They have been around for more than a decade, logging an EP, The Conjuring (2015), and a full-length album, The 39th Spirit (2018). The new record is a deep concept album, meaning that it is richly imagined. The band describes it this way, “It is a concept album about a man who makes a pact with Malphas to achieve his high political ideals; however, this backfires and ..read more

Harakiri For The Sky set the post-metal canons to kill for their new epic melodic Black Metal album, Mære. The band is Matthias Sollak, who plays all the instruments, and V. Wahntraum (JJ) who does the singing. Mære is the fifth full-length album for Harakiri For The Sky since 2012, an impressive production schedule by itself, the significance of which is magnified when you consider the other bands the musicians are part of. The music has a post-metal approach generally, and you can hear melodic Black Metal in there prominently alongside many other melded styles and takes. The themes tend tow ..read more

Brazil’s Outlaw adds new essential black metal to their canon with their third album, Reaching Beyond Assiah. Outlaw started in São Paulo, Brazil in 2015, and they have already made an indelible impression on heavy music with their two previous albums and the 2021 EP Death Miasma. Mixing and merging traditional black metal formulations with more melodic passages and temperate stances, they have over the years, created music that is immediately recognizable. The band has seen a number of lineup shakeups, and now, according to The Metal Archives, is founder Daniel Souza (vocals, guitar), with A ..read more

Shadow Of The Raventhrone is the third studio album from black metal band Funeral Mass. Funeral Mass started in Poland in 2018. I thought from the name we might be dealing with a doom band here, but their music is black metal through and through, with melodic touches for depth and highlight. The have released two previous full-length albums and an EP in the few years of their existence, each one a step further down the path. The band is Kamil Żerański (guitar, vocals), Dmytro Kvashnin (guitar), Jerzy Wieliński (bass), and Ignacy Macikowski (drums). “With Sinister Spell” is the first of seven ..read more

The Perfect Dream of Rotting Christ gets a polish and a rejuvenation with the new limited edition of Der Perfekte Traum. The Greek metal band Rotting Christ is Sakis and Themis Tolis who, along with Jim Mutilator, saw the origins of the band in the 1980s. I think most people, including me, think of the band’s music as Black Metal, but it has varied considerably over the years. With a discography that includes more than a dozen full-length albums and a plethora of EPs, compilations, splits, and live albums, They have covered a lot of ground. Der Perfekte Traum, “The Perfect Dream,” was origina ..read more

The third album from Switzerland’s Profond Barathe is an instrumental journey through a dark wonderland without a firm concept of edges. The band is Joachim Braekman (guitar), Morgan d’Argenteuil (drums), and Julien Floch (bass). The first album they released was Un voile de poussière in 2008, followed the very next year by Snaar. There was a split a few years later with Rorcal and Malvoisie that included the massive passage “Illunis,” but mainly the musicians were occupied in other quarters during this while until recently. Tinnitus, then, has been a long time coming and is therefore eagerly ..read more