Morthus – Into Oblivion

 The amount of new bands that have popped up in the last five years alone is staggering to say in the absolute least. And sometimes bands will think to add a little extra to spice things up a bit. With Morthus that little extra is making the blackened death a little melodic to bring some form into the mix and making it just a little bit more pleasing to people who can’t get enough of a good rhythm or beat out of their music. “Into Oblivion” brings the brutality in such a way that the melodic element isn’t overwhelming but … Continue reading Morthus – Into Oblivion

Ende – The God’s Rejects

 The essence of the sound of black metal is purely raw and unrestrained, as we all should know I assume. Back in the 90’s this was something else entirely with bands coming with all sorts of different types of shit to make their black metal sound more raw and more unrestrained than what bands before them had already done a thousand times over and over again. Nowadays, some bands are returning back to those times with coming up with albums that while sounding raw on record they sound just as if not more so raw when played live. One such … Continue reading Ende – The God’s Rejects

Carnival of Flesh – Stories From a Fallen World

 Some combinations are just never thought of, like mixing symphonic metal with black metal and just seeing what will happen. And what happened in this case was Carnival of Flesh’s debut album “Stories From a Fallen World”. This piece brings the black metal with elements of symphonic metal in such a way that it made for this really interesting combination simply because I’ve never heard anything like it before and it made me excited to know that it’s possible to create this kind of hybrid metal genre and pull it off really well at the same time. Bringing in out … Continue reading Carnival of Flesh – Stories From a Fallen World

Sojourner – Heritage of the Natural Realm (single)

 I’m an absolute sucker for epic (or folk) metal and atmospheric black metal when they’re both done right, but I’ve never imagined how good they might sound if someone smashed them together into one song with both parts being done extremely well. That’s exactly what Sojourner’s debut single has done for me! A 9 and a half minute track with elements of atmospheric black metal along with epic metal elements like a flute worked amazingly well together and only because Sojourner knew exactly the kind of sound they wanted and they fucking knew exactly how to get that sound perfectly. … Continue reading Sojourner – Heritage of the Natural Realm (single)

Aeveron – VVD Destination Annihilation

 If someone were to have asked me yesterday “what is your favorite piece of melodic black metal”, my only honest response would’ve been Satyricon’s famous song “K.I.N.G.” and that’s really it. I’ve not had much exposure to melodic black metal, but Aeveron has given me my first melodic black metal album and I can say in the very least that I am more than satisfied. “VVD Destination Annihilation” is an awesome 10-track album that blew my fucking mind because I’ve heard more than my fair share of black metal, and hearing it in a very melodic form sounded like absolute … Continue reading Aeveron – VVD Destination Annihilation

Orbseven – .ismos.

 It’s weird whenever I go to listen to the album and I try to listen to what the vocalist is saying, and I can barely even hear what he’s saying. I get that atmospheric black metal relies on the atmospheric element (shocker), but you know sometimes you can hear the vocals and they have a presence. But with Orbseven’s newest album, “.ismos.”, that’s taken to a completely different level and brings the vocals to the background so they provide an ambiance to the album along with the rhythmic guitars and drums that are a very good combo for this style … Continue reading Orbseven – .ismos.

Midnight Odyssey – Shards of Silver Fade

 The longest album I’ve ever heard in my entire life was only about an hour and ten minutes, and that was with over 13 tracks on that album at about 5 minutes a piece. But as if to show me that I don’t know shit the universe sent me Midnight Odyssey’s upcoming album “Shards of Silver Fade” which is a whopping, motherfucking 2 hours and 22 minutes long! Holy fuck! I sat there and just listened to the whole thing back to front to get the full experience of this literal mammoth of an album. The ambiance and atmosphere that’s … Continue reading Midnight Odyssey – Shards of Silver Fade

Vorgrum – Last Domain

 I’ve always been somewhat of a sucker for folk metal, and whenever someone says that they’ve got some folk metal for me to listen to I’m the kind of guy that would slide over magically without moving my legs or anything up to you and say, “Proceed, my good man.” Although, I know the difference between quality folk metal compared to others who are barely trying to even have folk elements and yet call themselves a folk metal band, but I won’t go into any specifics. Thankfully, Vorgrum’s latest black metal infused folk album “Last Domain” reminded of another popular … Continue reading Vorgrum – Last Domain

Feanor Omega – Anima

 Apparently Feanor Omega is the name of one of the musicians who makes up the band of the same name. I just thought that it was a reference to a character from the “Lord of the Rings” universe whose name is Feanor and that’s what caught my eye. Guess I was wrong, but I digress. “Anima” is an atmospheric black metal album that focuses more on the black metal aspect of the genre rather than the atmospheric part even though it’s still very detectable throughout the album. Some parts are more fast paced with vocals that are very distant in … Continue reading Feanor Omega – Anima

Downfall of Nur – Umbras de Barbagia

 I’ve never thought of the wonder that could come out of combining folk metal with atmospheric black metal before because it sounds so different to me that I never thought someone would have the balls to attempt it, but Downfall of Nur have done just that they’ve done it in such a way that I cannot even begin to fathom! “Umbras de Barbagia” is more atmospheric in the beginning than anything with instruments such as guitars, the flute, and even a fucking bagpipe being used in the second track, which is 17 minutes, and all of them create a truly … Continue reading Downfall of Nur – Umbras de Barbagia