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sabato 9 marzo 2024

Luring - Triumphant Fall of the Malignant Christ

#FOR FANS OF: Raw Black
Luring is an interesting project based in Pennsylvania, US. This project belongs to a scene of bands that play a quite old-school form of black metal, hereditary of the '90s golden time of the genre. These projects have a particular mixture of rawness and atmosphere that I find particularly enjoyable. As it usually happens, some members of Luring participate in other similar projects, being their current side-project Azathoth’s Dream. Its debut album entitled 'Nocturnal Vampyric Bewitchment' is another very interesting piece of black metal, full of a dark atmosphere.

Going back to Luring, after its first effort, which was just released a year before, the trio returns with its sophomore album entitled 'Triumphant Fall of the Malignant Christ', which has been released by the well-known label Iron Bonehead Productions. This fact obviously marks a step forward in the career of this band as it will receive a greater notoriety through the scene. The new opus is loyal to what we could expect from Luring and the aforementioned scene. 'Triumphant Fall of the Malignant Christ' is an honest testimony of the passion of the members for the metal black metal genre. The production is unsurprisingly raw, but not reaching the ‘low-fi’ level of certain bands, which I appreciate as some rawness is welcome, but to distinguish the instruments make the listener appreciate the music a lot more. The atmosphere is also a key element in Luring’s music, although the project tends to sound much rawer in certain songs, and particularly in some songs of the second half of the album. For example, the album opener "Where Forgotten Spirits Dwell" is a furious piece, where the guitars sound truly rough, and the drums have a relentless pace, but the atmospheric touch of the composition in certain moments create a more hypnotic feeling that I truly enjoy. Even more atmospheric is the next track, entitled "Strew Carcass of Christ", where the synthesizers play a major role. As it is in greater part a slower track, this ambience shines even more. An ambient interlude marks the transition to the already mentioned second half, which sounds a bit more brutal and less ambient infused on a couple of tracks. "Death is the Master I Obey" is a fine example of it. I do not imply that it lacks atmosphere, which is not the case, but the lack of keys and the darker and heavier tone of the guitars differ a little bit from previous songs. Even "Feral Spirit" seems to torture his throat even more, as his vocals sound more desperate and raspier. A couple of tracks follow similar patterns before the album concludes, retaking some of the atmosphere of its first half. These mentioned, both sides don’t differ too much, as they could be considered the two sides of the same coin. Personally, I prefer the songs where the synthesizers create a more captivating ambience, but it's up to each listener to make its own judgement.

In any case, 'Triumphant Fall of the Malignant Christ' is a quite good album of pure black metal, where rawness and atmosphere cohabitate quite naturally as it always should be in this genre. (Alain González Artola)


giovedì 22 febbraio 2024

Azathoth’s Dream - Nocturnal Vampyric Bewitchment

#FOR FANS OF: Raw Black Metal
Hailing from the US, Azathoth’s Dream is a new one-man band, whose debut EP entitled 'Necromanticism', caught the attention of a well-known label like Iron Bonehead Productions. Apart from this, there is little information about this project, so we will let the music speak, which is obviously the most important thing here.

As mentioned, Iron Bonehead is set to release the first full length of this obscure project. The first effort is entitled 'Nocturnal Vampyric Bewitchment'. The album title and the dark artwork give a clear clue about how this project sounds. Azathoth’s Dream’s debut album shows its devotion to black metal’s '90s golden era and more particularly to these bands tagged as “vampiric black metal”, where the sound is an interesting mixture of rawness, melody, and atmosphere. And this is exactly what we can find in this album. Consisting of nine tracks and lasting less than 28 minutes, this effort gets right to the point. After a haunting intro, the fury begins with the ferocious "Instatiable Sanguine Thrist". As soon as the song begins you will notice the murky production which is typical in this sort of bands. The lacerating high-pitched vocals are combined with the expected tremolo picking guitars melodies. Even though the production is remarkably raw, the guitars are able to create some melodic harmonies and a bewitching atmosphere, which will be a constant through the whole album. This is what makes Azathoth’s Dream music so enjoyable, it gets the right balance between aggression and melody, as it still sounds loyal to the underground. Another good point of this song and the album overall is the pace, it never focuses too much on being fast, as slow, and mid-temp sections are also adequately used. Especially captivating songs like "The Grace" and "The Moor" obtain fantastic results doing this. Furthermore, the addition of some atmospheric and even majestic elements creates glorious and lasting melodies that you want to listen to over and over again. A track like "Extinguish the Light" shows in its third minute length a good range of riffs, being some of them particularly crushing and raw. The contrast between this heaviness and the inclusion of atmospheric keys is again very well-done and makes the tracks very alluring. The rest of the album follows very similar patterns, but the inspired work with the guitars, the always changing pace, alongside the excellent atmospheric resources never fail, and consequently let you desire that the album would last a bit more.

'Nocturnal Vampyric Bewitchment' is undoubtedly an honest and outstanding homage to the classic '90s black metal scene, where rawness and atmosphere coexisted greatly. The tastefully created compositions and its short duration, leave the listener wanting more, and this is indeed a good foundation for the hopefully, next album of this project. (Alain González Artola)


martedì 3 ottobre 2023

Kaal Nagini - Refracted Lights of a Blind God

#PER CHI AMA: Death/Grind
È sempre piuttosto facile recensire questo genere di lavoro, soprattutto se alle spalle c'è un'etichetta come la Iron Bonehead Productions, le cui produzioni sono spesso a senso unico. Fatto sta che questo 12", intitolato 'Refracted Lights of a Blind God' degli indiani Kaal Nagini, potrebbe essere la colonna sonora perfetta per una bolgia infernale, il classico gorgo da cui sarà impossibile fuggire. Si, perchè quando "Nameless Archetype of Pantheonless Antiquity" irrompe nel mio impianto stereo, la sensazione è quella di essere inghiottiti in un buco nero, in un wormhole spazio-temporale, in un maelstrom o in quel diavolo che vi pare, e la cosa più chiarà è da quel luogo ameno, dimenticato da qualunque dio esista, non ne verrete fuori perchè sarete smembrati, scorporati, dilaniati, squartati, fatti a pezzi da una tenaglia cosmica senza precedenti. È chiaro il concetto, credo di essere stato sufficientemente schietto e diretto per dirvi come i quattro pezzi inclusi in questo EP vi tormenteranno l'anima da qui all'eternità con i loro claustrofobici e annichilenti ritmi infuocati, per non parlare di quell'indecifrabile voce demoniaca che non farà altro che aumentare il vostro stato di disagio totale. La band di Kolkata ha preso gli insegnamenti di Altarage, Portal, Ulcerate, Gorguts, Abyssal e Disembowelment (per ciò che concerne le parti più rallentate, tipo nel finale di "Lord of the Two Doors and the Seven Portals"), e le ha portate ad un livello superiore o forse meglio dire inferiore, di nefandezza sonica. Pertanto, vi sentite realmente pronti per essere divorati dall'antro della bestia? Non dite poi che non vi avevo avvertito... (Francesco Scarci)

sabato 16 settembre 2023

Runespell - Shores of Náströnd

#FOR FANS OF: Atmospheric Black
Hailing from Australia, Runespell has forged a quite solid career thanks to a very good collection of five albums, all of them very enjoyable. Which is surprising is that, although this project is quite new, as it was just founded back in 2017, Runespell has had time and inspiration to release almost one album per year. The stability of its line-up, consisting of the same three musicians who created Runespell, has obviously been very helpful. It is also noteworthy to highlight that the three members are also involved in other different projects, which makes clear the level of commitment with the music and the scene that these guys have.

Its previous album, entitled 'Verses in Regicide' caught my attention and it was a release that I personally enjoyed quite a lot. So, I was quite curious to see what Runespell could offer us this time, with its newest opus 'Shores of Náströnd', released again under the Iron Bonehead Records' flag. The Australian project plays a sort of black metal with a strong melodic and atmospheric touch. Their compositions have a quite solemn nature, providing an epic feeling that defines Runespell’s sound. Those characteristics are easily found in this newest album which consists of six pieces that will surely make happy the fans who already know this band. The album opener "Mirrors of the Dead" is a fine example of the band’s strongest points. Here, we will find a tasteful work with the guitars along the whole song, which have plenty of great and catchy melodies. After an introduction where the guitars and drums build an increasing feeling of something epic to come, the composition gains in speed and intensity, where the guitars play the main role, although we can hear some keys in the background which increase the majestic atmosphere of the song. The pace is far from being monotonous as it has its ups and downs in the speed and in the overall intensity of the track. The vocals are the classic black metal shrieks which are quite solid. This is actually a great way to open the album and it is probably my favorite track of the whole album. The first half of "Shores of Náströnd" is undoubtedly the finest one as the first three songs show the most memorable melodies and well-accomplished structures. Both "Elemental Fires" and "Spectres of War" have great melodies, excellent tempo-changes which include slow, mid, and fast sections and the aforementioned solemn touch. It is remarkable the nice use of the acoustic guitars here and there than can be enjoyed in "Spectres of War", which is a resource used again in the later part of the album. The longest and homonymous composition also uses the acoustic guitars, for example, as an introduction to the song. Even tough it is the longest track, it is rhythmically less varied than other songs as it generally has a mid-tempo pace during a great part of its length. The riffing uses this tempo to create a sort of hypnotic feeling to captivate the listener. In any case, the band introduces some variations in the intensity close to the end, which I think, it is a right move that enriches the song and makes it less predictable.

All in all, 'Shores of Náströnd' is another remarkably solid effort by the Australian trio Runespell. It doesn’t reach the level of magnificence to be defined as a stellar album. Nevertheless, its melodic black has some moments of greatness, and in general, a very good level which should satisfy the listener who wants to enjoy some black metal full of great melodies and a majestic touch. (Alain González Artola)

domenica 20 novembre 2022

Mysteria Mystica Aeterna - The Temple of Eosphoros

#FOR FANS OF: Black Old School
Formed in 2020, the German Mysteria Mystica Aeterna (what a cool band name), is a duo formed by a couple of quite experienced musicians, Frather Noxathra, who takes the duties for the vocals, strings and keys and Frater Odium Aeternum, who plays the drums. Both have several interesting projects closely tied to the realms of black and death metal, where they demonstrate their unquestionable devotion to extreme metal and talent to explore the different niches of this musical expression. Considering this background, it is not a surprise that only a year after the project’s inception, they released a quite interesting debut entitled 'Into the Kingdom of Shadows'. Both musicians seem to be on a high and only a year later they have forged a new opus that have caught the attention of the always reliable label Iron Bonehead Productions.

'The Temple of Eosphoros' is the name of the beast, and it is an excellent incarnation of how black metal should sound, reaching a perfect equilibrium between rawness, fury and atmosphere. Even though, the album cannot be tagged as atmospheric black metal, the ambience is a very strong and an essential aspect of Mysteria Mystica Aeterna’s musical proposal. The generous use of the keys never overshadows the most metal side of the band’s sound, but it complements and enriches it. Production wise, the work done is excellent, the instruments and vocals can be heard perfectly well, and they are distinguishable, never creating a sound ball where the music can not be appreciated. The guitar sound is really sharp, but clear and this is something I appreciate in this short of bands. The album itself is quite short, which is maybe my only complaint, but on the other hand, this means that it comes to the point with no fillers and forgettable moments. After a short and intriguing dark intro, the album begins with the excellent "The Holy Heaven of Will", where all the core elements of Mysteria Mystica Aeterna appear, rasped vocals accompanied by sharp-edged guitars and sumptuous keys, that create a spellbinding atmosphere. The song gains intensity as it progresses, with some quite fast sections mixed with some mid-tempos, or even slow ones. These ups and downs in the pace are adequately used through the whole album, which makes the songs sound varied and interesting, as it always helps to catch the attention of the listeners. The slowest parts are a highlight because here the atmosphere is particularly hypnotizing. The song "Thou, Whose Mouth is a Flame" combines the same aforementioned elements in a very enjoyable and inspired way. Here again, the keys play a prominent role enhancing the atmospheric side of this composition, as they give a grandiloquent touch to the song. The tempo changes are abrupt and mark a great contrast between the different sections, but they are well-done, and I think, as previously mentioned, this helps to make the songs particularly captivating. The calm and beautiful piano interlude in the second half of the song is probably one of the top moments of the album, it is so effective and beautiful. The song that closes an album is always a key moment as it can leave you with a good or bittersweet taste in your mouth. I can assure you that the band has put some effort to close the album with style, as the long and excellent self-titled track agglutinates all the strong points and characteristics of this opus. The riffing here is top-notch, and it is again excellently combined with the tasteful keys. Once again, the tempo and intensity changes are perfectly executed. This composition has been crafted with dedication and time and the result is just wonderful.

In conclusion, the German duo Mysteria Mystica Aeterna’s sophomore album should be a milestone in their career and the confirmation that this band has a lot to offer. Perfectly balanced black metal with a strong atmosphere, that any fan of the genre should listen to. (Alain González Artola)


domenica 16 ottobre 2022

Abythic - Eden of the Doomed

#PER CHI AMA: Death/Doom
Booooooom, anzi dooooom, quello proposto dai teutonici Abythic. La band della Westfalia, con cadenza quasi regolarissima (dal 2018 a oggi, escluso il 2020, hanno fatto sempre uscire un lavoro), tornano con questo 'Eden of the Doomed' e quello che è il loro genere, ossia un claustrofobico concentrato di death doom di scuola Asphyx. Lo confermano le note incluse nell'opener "Revelation from the Great Vastness Thereafter" con quel suo massiccio rifferama a cui si affianca una seconda chitarra, mentre la marcescente voce di MDB vomita dietro al microfono. Attenzione però perchè la proposta del trio tedesco racchiude anche una discreta dose di melodia che si accompagna a quei break atmosferici che caratterizzano questo e i successivi brani. Sia chiaro, come spesso scrivo, che non siamo di fronte a nulla d'innovativo, però il primo pezzo si lascia ascoltare piacevolmente nonostante quelle sue bordate ritmiche che sembrano evocare anche i primi Sepultura o i Bolt Thrower (anche per le parti pre-registrate di suoni di guerra). Si ricomincia con la battaglia anche in "Conquest of the One True Creed": riffone mastodontico, qualche guizzo di chitarra, vocione da orco cattivo (ma anche spoken words dopo un paio di giri di orologio), pause ritmiche, screaming disperati e scenari apocalittici che potrebbero adoperarsi alle terribili immagini di guerra che vediamo alla tv oggigiorno. E da qui si riparte ancora con vorticose ritmiche che ci portato a "Victory in Your Eden of the Doomed" e alla classica intro parlata di scuola Bolt Thrower. Poi, spazio ad una ritmica sinistra ed inquietante, mai veloce a dire il vero, con le chitarre che raddoppiano spesso e volentieri, mentre le vocals si confermano gutturali più che mai ad annunciare inesorabile il giorno del giudizio. (Francesco Scarci)

martedì 27 settembre 2022

Abhor - Sex Sex Sex (Ceremonia Daemonis Anticristi)

#FOR FANS OF: Occult Black Metal
The Italian veterans Abhor, a band founded in 1995 in Padua, have returned with its eighth opus entitled 'Sex Sex Sex (Ceremonia Daemonis Anticristi)', once again released by the always reliable label Iron Bonehead Productions. I have always enjoyed those black metal bands, whose lyrics are strongly focused on occultism and witchcraft, among other similar concepts, as this conceptual influence makes the music sound quite distinctive. From my personal point of view, those themes are sonically better represented when the band creates compositions with a strong atmospheric touch. Abhor is a fine example of it as these sorts of bands successfully mix the expected ferociousness and rawness of the black metal genre with a sinister and mysterious ambience, making the songs actually sound as a proper witches' sabbath.

Abhor’s latest opus 'Sex Sex Sex (Ceremonia Daemonis Anticristi)' is a fine exemplification of this aforementioned idea. The first proper track "Ceremonia Daemonia Anticristi" is a great album opener, where we can listen to the main characteristics of this album, the band achieves a nice mixture of slightly raw guitars, vicious raspy vocals, and a great atmospheric arrangement in the form an organ. This instrument is for sure, the most adequate one to create this dark and hypnotic atmosphere. Pace wise, the album is not especially fast as the compositions are more focused on mid-tempo sections where the riffs, which have a nice old-school touch, and the keys shine a lot. In any case, we can hear some punctual speed bursts in songs like "Ode to the Snake", for example, although they don’t last too much. This song in particular, is a highlight in terms of pace change as it is quite varied and enjoyable. I especially like how marked are the different sections in terms of intensity, and how naturally a quite aggressive part is followed by a much more atmospheric one, always keeping the composition a natural flow. "Ritual Mentor" is another great song, when we speak about making a clear contrast between the different intensities that we can find in a composition. But never leaving behind the fact, that the song and the whole work have a strong occult atmosphere which permeates every track. "October 31st, 2010" is the longest composition and probably one of my favorites as it summarizes all the strong points of this album. A long and mysterious introduction creates the appropriate mood for another fine display of occult black metal, once again with an appropriate balance between the most aggressive parts and keyboard driven spooky sections, where the band is especially inspired.

All in all, 'Sex Sex Sex (Ceremonia Daemonis Anticristi)' is a very solid effort where rawness and atmosphere are perfectly balanced, so any fan of black metal can enjoy this album. The vicious vocals and the solid riffing are perfectly complemented by the organs and keys, which enhance the occult and dark atmosphere that band wants to represent with its music. (Alain González Artola)


sabato 27 agosto 2022

In Grief - An Eternity of Misery

#FOR FANS OF: Death/Doom
The Italian trio In Grief was founded just two years ago, but the newcomers have been able to present a promising demo and EP prior to the arrival of the always decisive debut, where a new project must show all the cards. This didn’t seem to be a problem as the three musicians are already involved in several other projects, and the experience is always a secure value.
 
'An Eternity of Misery' is the name of the baby and, as you may guess, the music behind this title suits the title perfectly well. What In Grief dues is a 100% classic death/doom metal, absolutely devoted to what the genre has offered since its inception. So, don’t expect any great surprise, although I am quite sure that In Grief doesn’t want to please with you with surprises, but with the quality of its stuff, what fortunately happens. The album begins with an awesome starter entitled "Beyond the Dark Veil", which includes all the elements you want to hear in this genre. Robust growls accompanied by a solid yet classic rhythmic base and quite heavy guitars, this time accompanied by a beautiful violin, an instrument that always shines every time is used in the death/doom genre. In the subsequent track "Ярна", the guitars make a step forward in terms of addictive and memorable melodies which stuck in your mind as the song advances. The composition itself is a bit more upbeat in its peace, which is always a good aspect as the band tries to add some variety in a genre, where the pace is not always so heterogeneous, to say at least. The violin has another nice yet small appearance in the also quite enjoyable track "Queen of Babylon", where it performs another delicate melody accompanied by the guitars, which is the best moment of this composition. The guitar performance is excellent through the whole album with a good dose of excellent heavy riffs, but also some great harmonies and very enjoyable solos. It seems pretty clear to me that there is a good amount of work behind to make sound the guitars enough varied in each song. "Demons" is the real outsider of this album with a different approach and pace. Initially the song is quite soft and has some clean vocals, but it slowly evolves to a heavier section, where the aggressive vocals have a higher pitch than usual. The violin makes another appearance, which unsurprisingly is exquisite once again. The album has a great ending thanks to a trio of excellent songs. Here,the band shows the most excellent aspects of its music with a mixture of great riffs and memorable melodies (those guitars in the middle of "Close to Insanity", accompanied by some fantastic atmospheric arrangements are top-notch), more breathtaking violin additions and a great craftsmanship. Realizing how good are the atmospheric keys, I only hope that they will use them more often in future releases, as they are hypnotizing and enrich In Grief’s compositions in a very appropriate way.

In conclusion, In Grief’s 'An Eternity of Misery' is an excellent debut of pure death/doom metal with a great work in the compositions. I do hope they will explore more their most atmospheric and melancholic side in their future releases, as the violin and the keys are a more than welcoming addition to the already excellence, we can find in the guitar work. (Alain González Artola)

(Iron Bonehead Productions - 2022)
Score: 82

domenica 10 luglio 2022

Serpent Spawn - Crypt of Torment

#PER CHI AMA: Black/Death, Possessed
La Iron Bonehead Records prosegue la sua politica finalizzata alla distruzione totale. A dar man forte all'etichetta teutonica ci pensa proprio una band proveniente dalla Germania e con un debut piuttosto ferale ed incazzato. Ecco come si presenta in due parole 'Crypt of Torment', atto primo dicevo, di questi Serpent Spawn, trio che vede in seno membri (ed ex) di Blood e Dawn. Quattro tracce isteriche, caustiche e velenose, che vedono i nostri partire dalla title track, un brano di quasi tre minuti, all'insegna di un assalto all'arma bianca tra accelerazioni al fulmicotone interrotte da brevi rallentamenti, con la voce del frontman Martin Witchskinner, a muoversi tra growl profondi e grida disumane. Le scorribande sonore continuano con il monolitico sound di "Conquering the Trinity", che ammicca qua e là ai Morbid Angel e ai Possessed, complice una ritmica granitica che non trova sosta nel suo acuminato avanzare. Il suono ci porta indietro nel tempo di oltre 30 anni, affiancandosi a quello classico di fine anni '80 e primi '90. Lo dimostrano le ultime due tracce di questo EP, "Carnage Divine" e "Skinned and Gutted", gli ultimi due marcescenti esempi di questo sinistro concentrato di death/black. (Francesco Scarci)

lunedì 4 luglio 2022

Trolldom - I Nattens Sken (Genom Hemligheternas Dunkel)

#FOR FANS OF: Atmospheric Black Metal
The devotion to the roots of a genre or its golden era is something we can definitively find in almost every single subgenre of the metal scene, and the black metal scene is not stranger to this phenomenon. Although I consider essential for a genre to evolve and find new niches to enrich its core sound, I have always had a soft room for the bands and projects that bring back to the classic sound of the mighty '90s, where black metal was certainly something special. From time to time I have the chance of checking out new projects that successfully create albums, which are a true and tasteful portrait of that time. But it’s less common to find a project, whose debut consists of not a single album, but two opuses released at the same time. This is something outstanding and particularly if the quality is top-notch as it has happened this time. The Swedish one-man project Trolldom has assaulted the scene with two magnificent albums entitled 'Av Gudars Ätt…' and the present one, 'I Nattens Sken (Genom Hemligheternas Dunkel)'.

As it is a herculean task to review two albums, today I will focus on the second album 'I Nattens Sken (Genom Hemligheternas Dunkel)', which is a tremendous album of pure '90s atmospheric black metal. Starting from the production, you will immediately feel yourself immersed in the raw, yet atmospheric essence that forged the sound of legendary projects of that era. Contrary to some lo-fi production, the sound here is obviously raw, but well balanced and enough clean to appreciate the different instruments. There is a tendence to place in the front the vocals and drums, but the guitars can be also appreciated, and the symphonic/atmospheric arrangements are also audible, creating the hypnotic atmosphere that we love in this genre. The vocals are excellent, with these trademark shrieks which sound powerful. The tone is obviously high, though it has some screams which are particularly powerful, as it happens in the track "Draparen av Livets Veke". Pace wise, the album is fast as hell, the drums are a continuous exercise of blast-beats, that are crushing, but still have some excellent tempo-changes that make the drumming performance something to appreciate. From the ferocious album opener "Under Vinternattens Dystra Fullmane" to the last and epic track "Till Ruinens Svarta Rike", the listener will realise how relentless the pace is through the entire album. In any case, you will never feel that the album is boring as the drumming has some changes and technical touches that make it memorable. Furthermore, the great riffs and the excellent atmospheric arrangements, which are really captivating will definitively catch you. "Ondskans Svarta Brodeskap" is maybe the slowest track, because it slowly introduces you into a truly dark and dense atmosphere until the composition reaches a point where it explodes full of fury. As mentioned, the hectic pace doesn't mention that the album is a monorhythmic beast, the aforementioned track and the equally excellent "Inom Nattens Eviga Rit" show that the compositions have also good tempo-changes. The well-done contrast between the fastest sections and the mid-tempo or even slow parts, manages to enrich the compositions. The atmospheric arrangements are indeed a highlight of this album, with an excellent use of the keys, which appropriately complement the rest of the instruments. The ambient synthesizers, the simple yet effective pianos and the slightly symphonic keys are tastefully placed in each song, maintaining the recognizable style, but never sounding boring and exactly the same. The worth of using the same formula, but never sounding predictable is something that deserves all our praise.

'I Nattens Sken (Genom Hemligheternas Dunkel)’ is definitely an awesome debut that every fan of atmospheric black, and in general who loves black metal, should listen. The eight pieces of this debut are equally excellent and a fine example of the immense talent of the musician behind Trolldom. (Alain González Artola)

venerdì 24 giugno 2022

Varathron / Ungod - Apocalyptic Mysticism - split 7" EP

#PER CHI AMA: Black Old School
Due band che a modo loro hanno fatto la storia del black, s'incontrano sullo stesso EP. Sto parlando dei greci Varathron e dei tedeschi Ungod. Un 7" questo 'Apocalyptic Mysticism', targato Iron Bonehead Records, un'etichetta da sempre attenta a questo genere di sonorità underground. E ancora underground è lo spirito intatto dei Varathron, una band che segnava i primi passi a fine anni '80 e ora si diletta con questa canzoncina, "The Mystic Papyrous"che mantiene intatto lo spirito ellenico heavy black thrash di quegli anni anche perchè la song sembrerebbe essere stata concepita nel 1993. Ancora più marcescenti gli Ungod e la loro "Sinister Forms of Fallen Stars", un brano che sembra provenire direttamente dagli inferi, richiamando gli esordi ferali dei Bathory, con tanto di chitarre low-fi, produzione scarnissima, ritmiche tiratissime, quanto le screaming vocals del frontman per un lavoro consigliato ai soli aficionados di black old school. (Francesco Scarci)

venerdì 25 febbraio 2022

Furis Ignis - Decapitate the Aging World

#FOR FANS OF: Black Old School
A devotion to the seminal sound of each genre has been something quite common in the metal scene, and something perfectly understandable. They were those first bands that let us a profound impression and made us love a certain style of music. Black metal is not an exception as we see many projects that try to reflect the majesty of those mighty projects appeared in the '90s and even in the second half of the '80s. Personally, I enjoy those bands that push the boundaries, as every genre needs fresh sounds, because without them the process of stagnation and mediocrity would be unstoppable. On the other hands, I also appreciate and find exciting to discover new projects, capable of bringing back those old sounds with quality, and if possible, to bring their own personality. The German solo project Furis Ignis seems to be one of them. The project was born in 2019 and after three years of existence and no previous known stuff, Furis Ignis has signed a deal with the always reliable label Iron Bonehead Productions to present its first opus entitled ‘Decapitate the Aging World’.

'Decapitate the Aging World' is undoubtedly a remarkable debut, consisting of six tracks, having each one of them its own personally and specific characteristics. In any case, the whole album and its songs are strictly tied to black metal’s foundations and classical aspects as they make me remember all the classic bands of the '90s. Through its 39 minutes, you will taste some chaotic riffs, melodic tunes and captivating atmospheric touches that show why black metal is such an especial sub-genre. Production wise, the album has an expected raw production, with a clearly old school touch, especially in the guitars that have a rough and sharp sound. Apart from that, the balance is quite good, as vocals, guitars and drums are perfectly distinguishable and have an equal presence, which is a basic aspect to fully enjoy the band’s music. Another interesting fact of this album is the length of the songs, quite unbalanced, as two tracks last half of the album’s time, while the other four tracks are around two to  five minutes. As you can imagine, the longer tracks have a greater room to appreciate Furis Ignis different influences. Anyway, the guitars are excellent regardless of the song as they sound quite elaborated, taking into account that this music is not technical or so complex, because the riffing is excellent both when the riffs are ferocious or more melodic. "Witness the Nightsky Palpitating to the Beat of Premonition" is the excellent album opener that summarizes all the good aspects of this powerful debut. Rasping vocals combined with an impressive guitar work, whose pace and intensity fluctuates between pure rawness and speed to a slower tempo with some interesting atmospheric touches. The surprisingly audible bass increases the feeling of listening to something truly loyal to the old times. The ambient arrangements remind me Burzum’s most hypnotic moments, which is something truly especial. This song is like you would discover a bastard descendant of Burzum, Mayhem and Darkthrone, which I guess it’s the wet dream of any classic black metal fan. "Guarding the Gate" is the longest piece of this album and again the longer duration gives us the chance of enjoying every single aspect of Furis Ignis full potential. Again, the riffing is memorable and as the song progresses, we can appreciate the amount of work done to build a long, yet irremediably interesting, piece of music. The initial and powerful beginning combines the impressive riffs, fast paced drums and some tiny and great atmospheric touches that make this part equally hypnotic, yet apt for a nice headbanging. The middle part focuses on what is maybe the rawest section of this album. It combines pure furious parts with some really crushing and raw riffs, until a more melodic essence progressively appears and its shares the prominence with the rawer riffs in a very inspired way, showing that brutality and melody can successfully coexist. The album closer "Donner In Den Bergen" is another interesting track as it has its own personality. It’s the slowest song as it has a more depressive and “doomy” touch. Its sombre nature makes this track a good ending for this powerful album as it is a sonic portrait of a devastated scenery.

At the end 'Decapitate the Aging World' is arguably one of the most interesting debuts in a long time, when we speak about old school black metal. The album is a compendium of what we love from this genre as it has been composed and executed tastefully. Furis Ignis succeded in creatin an album that has its own personality thanks to the respectable amount of work done. The intensity and variety are something undeniable and make this album a must for every fan of the black metal genre. (Alain González Artola)


mercoledì 10 novembre 2021

Runespell - Verses in Regicide

#FOR FANS OF: Pagan Black Metal
Runespell is one of those solo projects with an obscure origin. It was founded in Australia some years ago, by a quite active musician known as Nightwolf, who has been an active part of the local black metal scene. He was a member of projects like Drowning the Light or Necrostrigis in the past, among others. Currently, he shares its time between Blood Stronghold and Runespell. The second one is his best-known project, thanks to a quite solid discography and the exposure given by the fact that he signed a early deal with Iron Bonehead Productions, which has released all his albums so far.

Runespell plays pagan black metal with a raw nature, but at the same time strongly melodic. Music’s rawness principally comes from the production as it is far from being over polished. The vocals sound distant and dark, but not buried in the mix, which is maybe one of the most classic characteristics of tradition black metal. The instruments sound well-balanced, and they have a quite natural, if not “warm”, feeling, like if the songs had been played live as they seem not to have excessive adornments in the production and mixing. I think this is a good point as this kind of music sounds more authentic when it doesn´t sound too packed and artificial. Contrary to some other pagan black metal bands, which have a quite more upbeat sound, like a heroic march towards the war, Runespell’s music has a slightly darker approach as it is perfectly depicted in the excellent album cover art. In any case, the melodic touch of the guitar gives to the compositions the expected epic touch for bands that are influenced by medieval times. So, what we can find in this album is a very well achieved balance between darkness and light, perfectly executed in the very interesting five tracks included in 'Verses in Regicide'. We can also listen to two short, beautiful instrumentals songs with a quite strong melancholic and interesting atmosphere, that serve, in the case of the piece "Windswept Burial", to close this quite enjoyable album. The album opener "Structures of Collapse" is one of my favourite tracks, as it creates the appropriate mood to enter the album with a great initial section, that gains in intensity until the rasped vocals and the excellent guitars make a furious appearance. The initial rapid pace is modulated by a quite variable pace with its ups and downs in terms of speed. Nevertheless, the main role is for the excellent riffs with its strongly melodic nature that leads the song all the way through. This melodic excellence is kept in the following song called "Vengeance Reign", which has an opposite evolution in its structure. The first part is a mid-tempo composition with a quite up-beat main melody, until a clear change comes in the second half with a clearly faster approach. Pace-wise, this album has its variations, although Runespell seems to be more comfortable in the mid-tempo sections, where the melodic nature of its compositions can shine in its full glory as we can appreciate, among other fine examples, in the longest composition "Tides of Slidhr". Fortunately, the pace changes are appropriately place here and there to avoid this feeling of be listening to the same song all the time. Apart from that, the energetic nature of the riffs makes the songs to have an extra point of interest regardless of the pace.

In conclusion, Runespell’s 'Verses in Regicide' is a very good album of pagan black metal. The raw production contracts with the strongly melodic nature of the compositions, even though the combination is excellently done and the final result sounds robust and credible. (Alain González Artola)


mercoledì 15 settembre 2021

Vøidwomb - Altars of Cosmic Devotion

#PER CHI AMA: Black/Death
Arrivano dalla semisconosciuta Barroselas (Portogallo) questi Vøidwomb, oscuro e pericoloso quintetto dedito ad un black death old school, nonostante la band sia di recente formazione (2019). La voglia di ripescare sonorità mai dimenticate, viene a galla nella ritmica di "Summon of Utu-Shamash", che segue con le sue roboanti chitarre un'intro dal piglio liturgico. Poi spazio ad un sound old style tra chitarroni death thrash e vocalizzi d'oltretomba. Nulla di originale come potrete intuire, nemmeno a livello solistico, con un assolo di scuola floridiana (stile Deicide) davvero poco efficace. E allora si riparte con "Descent to Ersetu", tirata all'inizio e poi mid-tempo nella sua parte centrale, dove in sottofondo mi sembra di scorgere dei chorus celestiali, mentre la sei corde miete vittime con rasoiate di scuola black death svedese. Si prosegue con la cupezza sonora di "Architects of World Demise" e con quel suo incipit death doom a mischiare ancora una volta le carte in tavola, anche se poi i cinque lusitani si lanciano in ritmiche tirate (e poco melodiche) guidate dal growling cupo e a tratti acido di M.S.Vøid. L'ultima traccia è affidata alla title track e a quel suo inizio tribale che sembra mostrare un lato più personale della band, troppo poco per ingolosirsi di una release come questa, da consigliare esclusivamente agli amanti di sonorità qui troppo derivative e obsolete. (Francesco Scarci)

lunedì 13 settembre 2021

Orgrel - Red Dragon’s Invocation

#FOR FANS OF: Black Old School

Let`s go with another interesting project, which literally comes from nowhere. The Italian project Orgrel has signed a deal with Iron Bonehead Productions to release its first opus entitled 'Red Dragon’s Invocation'. As this label usually releases quality stuff, it is clear that the band’s first effort must have something which should be worth of our time.

As I have no more info about this obscure project, I immediately decided to focus on the most important thing, the music itself. One needs only a couple of seconds to realize that Orgrel plays black metal in its purest and most iconic form. Every second of this powerful debut is a sincere and passionate tribute to the genre’s gold era, the never forgotten '90s. Production wise, 'Red Dragon’s Invocation' is an album with a good balance in terms of merging the current production standards and a devotion to that era. There is no crystal-clear sound here, but a quite good production, where the main instruments can be easily distinguished, while the overall sound is enough raw to fit the music. The vocals sound high and powerful, just in the front but without being over present, as they share the main role with the guitars and drums. As mentioned before, Orgrel plays black metal as quintessential as the genre can be, so there is no need to lose time trying to give a more refined definition of the band’s sound. 'Red Dragon’s Invocation' is an album where speed, ferocity and melody are fused together in a very natural way, like black metal has always been, as least when it has not been perverted. There is no black metal if we only find brutality without melody and this Italian project has perfectly understood this indispensable condition. For that reason, the seven songs of this debut album have a healthy balance of these elements, including a good dose of tempo changes, which is always a welcome aspect in this genre. The album opener "Burning Ruins", which is actually one of the top songs of this album, summarizes all the strong points of Orgrel’s music. It’s a fast track with ferocious vocals and an excellent work with the guitars, which sound equally strong and melodic and with a good degree of elaboration, as they guide all the tempo changes of this track. The composition has a handful of them, as it flows easily between fast, medium, and slow sections which make the song truly captivating. The tremolo riffing is the king in songs like "Amor Fati" or the album closer, the massive "Carved in Blood", especially in the fastest sections of these songs and in general in the whole album. On the other hand, we can find slightly more distorted guitars in the slowest parts, being maybe the clearest example the headbanging inducing "Gate of Eternal Life", which could be defined the slowest song of the album, although it doesn´t lack a pinch of power.

Orgrel’s debut 'Red Dragon’s Invocation' will please of the fans of classic black metal, as the album keeps a quite good level through the entire work. It won´t shake the genre as the classic gems did, because I can´t find a song which is outstandingly brilliant, but I can´t either find a mediocre song or even section. In conclusion, everything here sounds packed, focused and consistent, giving us over thirty minutes of undoubted enjoyment. (Alain González Artola)


(Iron Bonehead Productions - 2021)
Score: 74

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