LUCIDITY: “OCEANUM”

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule  No Responses »
Jun 072019
 

 

(This is DGR’s review of the latest album by the Finnish band Lucidity, which was released in February by Inverse Records.)

It’s interesting that we have never before penned words about Lucidity and their branch of the sad-sack melodeath musical tree, as the Finnish group’s keyboard-laden doom-influenced style seems to be perfectly within this website’s wheelhouse — well, at least in one particular writer’s wheelhouse. But now the time has come.

Lucidity have existed for quite a while now, though only recently appearing to have become a more album-oriented project. Prior to the release of their debut disc The Oblivion Circle in 2015, Lucidity had been putting out a steady stream of demos, totalling around five before the aforementioned debut. Nearly four years later — in the back part of February — the group released their sophomore album Oceanum. Clocking in at nearly fifty minutes across eight songs, Oceanum has some heft to it as it drapes itself in a veil of melancholy while conjuring familiar imagery of forests, lakes, and all things pensive. Continue reading »

CARNAL FORGE: “GUN TO MOUTH SALVATION”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Jun 062019
 

 

(Here’s DGR’s review of the new album by Swedish death-thrashers Carnal Forge, which was released in January of this year by ViciSolum Productions.)

There exists a strange compulsion when it comes to review-writing on this end that has often run counter to how the clear majority of reviews are conducted, which usually focus on the most recent collection of up-coming releases. That approach makes sense, as people are often looking for information on albums right around release time, and afterward the discussion moves on to the more fan-driven “what works for me and what doesn’t” style of discussion. However — and you might have noticed this referenced in the recent write-ups by Andy — late discoveries often wind up backlogged in a weird purgatory state of “maybe I’ll write about this”… in between various games of keeping up with the most recent stuff coming out.

Albums left behind can tend to claw at the back of the mind, though. We find ourselves wanting to talk about some discoveries, regardless of release date. Maybe it will give the band a boost back into the public consciousness, however briefly; maybe it’s just to ease that weird guilt of “I’ve been enjoying this since I was introduced to it, yet have said nothing”; and maybe it’s just that the passage of time helps with the congealing of thoughts. Being able to step away from something only to come back later and see what really stuck with you is a wonderful thing, as hindsight can serve as an excellent guide on how to write about a disc.

Long story short, this is a roundabout way of saying, “Hey, remember the end of January? Feels like an eternity ago doesn’t it? Well I’ve been enjoying a disc by the reactivated Carnal Forge that came out around that time and want to talk about it.” Continue reading »

NIGHTRAGE: “WOLF TO MAN”

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Jun 052019
 

 

(Here’s DGR’s review of the new album by Nightrage, which is out now on Despotz Records.)

Every Nightrage album that comes out reinforces the conviction that Nightrage are a band who exist by sheer force of will. Who would’ve guessed that so deep into the band’s career they would finally have a vocalist who would stick around for more than two albums? Yet Nightrage’s Wolf To Man sets that record. Who would’ve guessed that the band’s eighth album kept them to a relatively stable schedule, with a relatively stable lineup, and (as it turns out) a relatively stable formula for music? And on top of all this, that they would manage to finally have a song mentioning the name “Nightrage” within the title? Yet Wolf To Man accomplishes all this.

Nightrage’s career is one that has seen the band go through numerous lineup changes (and even here they wound up changing the rhythm section, with a new bassist and a new drummer, as previous drummer Lawrence Dinamarca found himself busy with a newly revitalized Carnal Forge since 2017’s The Venomous), yet somehow always remain something of a standard-bearer for the mid-2000s melodeath scene, and in some ways its sound. Continue reading »

GLORYHAMMER: “LEGENDS FROM BEYOND THE GALACTIC TERRORVORTEX”

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule  4 Responses »
Jun 052019
 

 

(Evan Clark reviews the new album by Gloryhammer, which was released by Napalm Records on May 31st.)

Hark! And hear the glorious call of power metal! Before you now stands the mighty Gloryhammer, the last bastion of true fantasy power metal for the modern age. Perk up your ears mere mortals, and journey with us on the third chapter from the Kingdom of Fife! Legends From Beyond the Galactic Terrorvortex finds our heroes returning back to their rightful time to combat the evil forces of blah blah blah…

Okay, for those who don’t know, Gloryhammer is the symphonic power metal project founded by Christopher Bowes of Alestorm fame. The band is known for their over-the-top, satirical approach to the genre. Take a seat, grab a goblet of ale, and try not to take things too seriously. Continue reading »

GAAHLS WYRD: “GASTIR — GHOSTS INVITED”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Jun 042019
 

 

(Wil Cifer reviews GastiR – Ghosts Invited, the new album by Gaahls Wyrd, which is out now via Season of Mist.)

Gaahl is an iconoclast. For him black metal is not something he simply paints onto his face. Black metal is something he expresses himself through with an honest anger. While you might not feel that hate coming at you through the speakers like his work with Gorgoroth, you can feel the darkness. He does not settle for the mediocrity of sounding like everyone else.

His first song is spoken in a Gollum-like voice. They are not just hitting you with blast beats, but with dissonance, creepiness, and haunting melodies. There are blast beats on “Ghosts Invited” but they take you on an immersive journey with more thrashing sections and some groove. In places Gaahl uses sung baritone vocals to off-set the din. They slow down into a more elegant and melodic pulse with “Carving the Voices”. If this is hurting your feelings because it doesn’t sound just like Gorgoroth, well go listen to Gorgoroth. Yes, he is singing more, but I imagine if he was just rehashing what he did in Gorgoroth, he would bore himself to death. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): INFERNAL CONJURATION — “INFERNALE METALLUM MORTIS”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  2 Responses »
Jun 042019
 

 

Following a trio of short releases that have been highly regarded in the death metal underground, the Mexican band Infernal Conjuration have at last created a debut full-length now set for CD and vinyl release on June 7th by no less than Iron Bonehead Productions, whose attention to the album should be enough reason for you to dive all the way in. Little wonder that a label with such a proven track record would embrace Infernale Metallum Mortis, because the album is, in a word, spectacular.

We are fiendishly delighted to present a full stream of the album today, and it is indeed overflowing with fiendish delights. Feel free to skip right down to the bottom of this post and launch the player (after first taking some giant gulps of air), but if you’d like a further preview of what lies ahead, read on…. Continue reading »

PANZERFAUST: “THE SUNS OF PERDITION – CHAPTER I: WAR, HORRID WAR”

 Album Reviews  8 Responses »
Jun 032019
 

 

(This is Andy Synn‘s review of the new album by Panzerfaust from Toronto, Ontario, which will be released on June 14th by Eisenwald.)

So Summer is officially here. The sun is shining, the days have grown longer, and even the nights are balmy and mild.

But, of course, if sunshine and good times aren’t your thing then the music world still offers more than enough sonic darkness to satisfy your cravings for all things bleak and blackened… which, in this particular case, includes the phenomenal fourth album from Canadian extremists Panzerfaust. Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 109): ENCIRCLING SEA

 Album Reviews, THE SYNN REPORT  7 Responses »
May 312019
 

 

(The subject of Andy Synn‘s REPORT for the month of May 2019 is the discography of the Australian band Encircling Sea.)

Recommended for fans of: Downfall of Gaia, Cult of Luna, Wolves In The Throne Room

Australian three-piece Encircling Sea are a band I’ve been itching to write about for what seems like forever, yet it’s always seemed like life has had other plans and other priorities which have prevented me from doing so.

Recently however my urge to cover the group’s music has ramped up considerably, largely because 2018’s Hearken was one of my favourite albums of the year, and helped reignite/reinvigorate my passion for their entire back catalogue.

Splitting the difference between the more atmospheric end of the Black Metal spectrum (think Wolves In The Throne Room, Agalloch, etc) and the heaving Post-Metal of ISIS and their ilk, the group’s sound also incorporates some hefty Doom and Sludge influences, as well as a dash of somber Neo-Folk, in a way that captures both the vastness and elemental grandeur of the band’s homeland in majestic musical form. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): VORTEX OF END — “ARDENS FVROR”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  1 Response »
May 302019
 

 

On May 31st — tomorrow — Osmose Productions will release Ardens Fvror, the third album by the French extremists Vortex of End, and on the eve of that explosive advent we present a full stream of the album.

Ardens Fvror is a hybrid in more ways than one. Stylistically, the band have created an alchemical alloy of black and death metal that interweaves the thunderous tumult and megaton destructiveness of a modern war zone with the hallucinatory quality of of an occult ritual, in which solemn reverence and fierce zealotry are also intermingled. The result is music that’s both skull-crushing and spell-weaving. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): MALUM — “LEGION”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  2 Responses »
May 282019
 

 

Devil-worshipping black metal has taken a multitude of shapes, but the word that comes to mind most frequently in listening to the new album by Malum is “glorious”. Unmistakably, the music within Legion carries the hallmark fire and ferocity of Finnish black metal, but the songs reach mythic heights, becoming magical anthems of praise and exaltation that electrify the senses. Yet Malum have a gift for creating the kind of dynamic changes that hold listeners in place for the full run, and so they also use their beautifully crafted melodies and ever-changing momentum to carry the mood into dark places where peril and tragedy dwell.

Malum have been a prolific force since their founding in 2013, with a multitude of EPs and splits to their name, in addition to three albums, of which Legion is the newest — and most signal achievement yet. It will be released on May 31st by Purity Through Fire, and we have the great pleasure of presenting a full stream of all its extravagant tracks today. Continue reading »

 Older Entries  Newer Entries