MASTIPHAL: "Parvzya"

Considering how modern black/death metal fusion Mastiphal plays on their second full-length Parvzya, it comes as a surprise that the band embarked on its journey back in 1991 already (though under a different name), releasing the debut album 1995 and hence belonging to the first Polish black metal groups. I am not familiar with that record, but at least on Parvzya there’s a slight lack of originality, the album being quite a basic slew of tracks which fluctuate between modern Watain esque discordance and more old school and death metal influenced heaviness.

While Parvzya evokes an aura of convincing darkness, not every second is pure splendor. The songs are executed smoothly with either rapid speeds or with good grooves, not to forget those epic solos, but only rarely do the songs rise to truly memorable riffing. ”May He Rot in Hell” and ”Under the Sign of the Morning Star” could be noteworthy mentions here, being some of the album’s highlights, but around the middle of the album, Parvzya starts to repeat its common blasting a tad too much.

As a usual complainer of polished productions, I could mention the drum sound that would have worked better with a filthier sound instead of this professional and sterile precision they call a standard for drums on extreme metal albums nowadays. Perhaps I’m supposed to just get used to this Necromorbus studio sound that dominates on every other new release I hear today, ha. Luckily the other instrumentation works nicely (guitars varying from downtuned murkiness to the more common black metal tremolo menace), as does Flauros’ evil spewing.

In the end, what’s left of Parvzya is a few captivating tracks and an overall good atmosphere. Tight playing and clear sound, these both maybe to an excessive level. There’s no way of calling Parvzya a true masterpiece but the whole has its moments of brilliance, hence rating the album in the scale of one to five is a tough decision, but I’m settling to a moderate score. If modern and extreme is your thing in particular, you may add a half star or even more, because Parvzya clearly isn’t the worst effort in this style.

2.5 / 5

MOON: "Caduceus Chalice"

What - this isn’t a lost Xasthur album? I have to recheck that I’m actually listening to an Australian band named Moon whose debut album Caduceus Chalice was released through Wolfsvuur - known for its ’quantity over quality’ principle if you ask me - in early 2010 and now getting a CD re-release treatment by Moribund Records. Everything is so similar, if not identical, to Xasthur that I’m confused: the same ghostly, dissonant atmosphere, effect-filled vocals and a drum machine are all present.

I do find myself enjoying Caduceus Chalice’s ominous atmosphere. As described by the band itself, it is a journey through the underworld, and the album succeeds in it with its multiple layers of instrumentation. Compositionally, however, Moon doesn’t provide anything absolutely interesting, at least anything that Xasthur hasn’t done before. Also, the 20-minute ”Chalice” - from which I find much Elysian Blaze influences, by the way - drags on a bit too long, giving too much emphasis on the power of repetition. The song does get better towards the end when e.g. choirs appear, but is still prolonged overall.

Certain moments on ”Monastery” are very good and otherwise the whole Caduceus Chalice is decent, but in the end it doesn’t provide anything that would capture my interest entirely, most likely because of the similarity to the aforementioned band: these dissonant melodies, effected vocals and drums machines are all heard before. Those who are in love with Xasthur’s eerie, dissonant music (and haven’t had enough of that band’s massive discography) might find Caduceus Chalice a worthy investment.

(Originally written in July 2010, renewed in the light of the upcoming Moribund Records re-release.)

2.5 / 5

MIASMAL: "Miasmal"

Everytime I come across another new band playing old school Swedish death metal, I think that okay, this time I won’t score it that high, now it’s time to bash a vapid clone. But after giving Miasmal’s eponymoys debut a few spins, there’s no way I could rate it poorly, even if it isn’t among my favourites when it comes to the 2000s revival of the Swedish phenomenom.

This is mostly due to the production that lacks the asphyxiating, morbid and death reeking atmosphere of, say, the recent Interment debut. The sound is quite huge but also muffled and warm, which is something I wouldn’t prefer to hear on an album of this kind. But what comes to the compositional work here, Miasmal rocks: not with originality (huh!) but with kick ass riffs that are churned with good taste throughout the 38-minute whole that says nothing on the first go, but after a few listens starts to grab better. ”Equinox 432” is probably my favourite of the slew, attacking with great riffage that culminates into a semi-melodic peak towards the end. ”Mists” is another piece worth mentioning here as it briefly introduces some haunting acoustic guitars into the mix.

In addition to the eight track album, there are six tracks more from the band’s back-catalogue on the CD version. I prefer the less careful sound production on these demo and EP songs, though the actual songs aren’t as grabbing as the Miasmal full-length pieces. But, all in all, an old school death metal fan won’t lose anything if he/she invests into Miasmal that not only offers a full-length of good stuff, but also a shitload of solid extra material. As with all the other albums in this field, it’s hard to be create a true masterpiece, but Miasmal surely does its job admirably, nonetheless.

3 / 5

RUINS: "Chambers of Perversion"

My previous encounter with this one-man black/thrash metal outfit was the seven inch split with Front Beast, but admittedly I do not remember much of Ruins’ side because I’ve listened to that piece of wax merely because of the other band. I might have to go back and give some exposure to the other half of the vinyl as well, considering how damn crushing the band sounds on Chambers of Perversion, an EP released last year on vinyl and later this year on CD via Negative Existence.

These nineteen minutes and seven relatively short tracks are pure vitriol. For the most part, tempo is kept at high levels, drums battering the usual thrash metal beats and guitar firing their power chord menace, not unlike an early Sodom record. The vocal output is propably the most distinct feature of Ruins: you could think of the high pitch of Werwolf (Satanic Warmaster) and Azgorh (Drowning the Light) and you are close to this maniac’s spewing that fits into the filthy, raw soundscape like a fist in the face. As implied, the riffs are simple but effective, and after the first few reckless pieces, there’s ”War in Heaven Part 4 (Megalomania)” which slows the pace a little and provides some very epic yet old school guitarwork. After that, the rapid hell is loose again, and continues until the very end.

There’s no way of recommending this to anyone else than those who still love to dwell in the very old school black / thrash metal traditions, where a proper studio production was more of a curse word. The compositional work here does not compromise, but it doesn’t even try as Ruins knows that good metal doesn’t always require anything truly innovative. Hellscourge’s recent debut Hell’s Wrath Battalion comes to my mind when listening to Chambers of Perversion, but I think that this EP surpasses that one, though both are good and, in fact, best records in this field I’ve heard this year.

4 / 5

BLEEDING FIST: "Devil's Ferox"

Slovenian Bleeding Fist has been busy recently, unleashing a string of releases in the span of just a few years, and of these assaults Devil’s Ferox is the latest, and also the first one I’ve heard from them. Fierce, raw and Satanic black metal is Bleeding Fist’s approach on this EP, and ultimately in an old school tradition without much compromises.

Sound-wise, Devil’s Ferox is indeed rough and far from a polished affair. The drums pummel like hell in the dirty soundscape, unfortunately to the extent that guitar riffs are buried beneath the overpowered snare drum. Throughout the record, I’m reminded of Rabid Death’s Curse era Watain and why not old Deathspell Omega - the band is constantly evil, firing those malicious chords and rapid blasts.

The main glitch of Devil’s Ferox is that it simply lacks enough grabbing compositions, or perhaps there’s some killer material in there, but it’s mostly the unbalanced production that hinders the guitars from rising to required strength, hence the songs kind of pass from an ear to another without any other impression than yeah, this stuff is evil and hellish and so on... I am able to enjoy the ringing violence of the title track’s tremolo menace and the Death SS tribute ”Black and Violent” which is distinct with its rocky attitude, but it doesn’t cover for the lack of any really promising material when we look at the big picture.

That said, Devil’s Ferox never harasses nor impresses, it’s the kind of usual Satanic feast that mostly stays in the background for its dark atmosphere. There’s surely potential for something more, so maybe next time they’ll come up with more a convincing compositional work that relies also on memorable riffing instead of this mere dark aura.

2.5 / 5

ZOMBIEFICATION: "Midnight Stench"

Zombiefication, another rather new death metal group from Mexico, hails the 90s Swedish old school death metal scene with devotion. Everything, from the d-beats to the thick and punishing guitar sound, their debut album Midnight Stench reeks of its influences, but hey, not everyone think it’s automatically a bad thing. At least me, and those others who still find pleasure from the same patterns that the innovators crafted twenty years ago.

Considering the consciously stagnant and uncompromising style, there’s no need to go into deep details (and I don’t even know if I could as it’s hard to differentiate some tracks after hearing a ton of albums in this vein recently), but there are some moments when the Midnight Stench does visit more innovative territories. One of these is the slow-paced ”Sleepless Mutter” which vaguely flirts with melodic doom metal, a refreshing highlight in the middle of all the savage killing.

In all aspects, Midnight Stench sounds crushing: the production, that has a slight reverb, sounds massive yet raw, and the instruments are handled with professional touch though it never sounds sterile nor too careful. An album full of ass-kicking riffage, that almost evokes a picture of a primeval, bestial man with its basic instincts, needs no philosophical analyzing. By now, you know that Midnight Stench offers and you know if you’re interested or not. I might personally require something more from an album that would receive the mark of a brilliant record, but at what it does, Midnight Stench is no worse than many of its current European brothers.

3 / 5

VITER / KINGS & BEGGARS: "Diva Ruzha"

Last year when Viter unleashed their debut Dzherelo, I was quite astonished. And now, seeing that a split release with Kings & Beggars was released, I was more than eager to see in which direction they would go from the EP, though I guess that Diva Ruzha is not any indicator, as this split is an experimental effort comprising specific old traditional songs enhanced in the two bands’ hands. On three of the tracks, both bands collaborate together, and they both have also their own songs.

Diva Ruzha begins with the eponymous song that is the definite highlight of the split, combining Kings & Beggars’ folk instrumentation and Viter’s metal. But the metal is in minor role (except one brief section of down-tuned death metal riffage), the focus is on the beautiful, repetitive melody pattern sung in both male and female vocals. It’s epic as hell, and endures its lengthy 7-minute playing time. Kings & Beggars track ”Ai Vis Lo Lop” is up next, once again revolving around simple vocal pattern which is this time a little more upbeat. Acoustic string instruments are put to great use on this song, sounding so wooden and natural.

”Vänner och Fränder” gets back to the same song the EP started with, this time being a more calmful, slower and misty version, sung in Swedish as the very original piece - and it works as well as the preceding version. Skyforger cover ”Migla, Migla, Rasa, Rasa” is a beautiful, minimal and wistful song with simple percussion, the song culminating into prominent flute melodies. ”Chycheri”, a Viter track, concludes Diva Ruzha in very upbeat and almost tongue-in-cheek spirit which kind of ruins it for me, and I personally think that the EP would have had a better whole if this circus-like piece was excluded, but oh well - the four tracks before it are so good that I can simply skip this one every time.

Throughout the record, a plethora of different traditional instruments are played in every corner, so there’s a lot to spot from Diva Ruzha’s lush soundscape. The melodies are catchy and don’t take a great deal of time to sink into the listener, which is okay considering that this is probably a one-time experimentation lasting mere 23 minutes, and very successful minutes those are (excluding the last three). If you want a dominant presence of metal in your folk, then Diva Ruzha might be a disappointment, because the record rarely goes into heavy territories, but those who are interested in the use of traditional instruments in traditional folk songs, spiced with just a touch of metal, I can’t think of a better relase than Diva Ruzha right now. It’s not as consistent and brilliant as Dzherelo, but worth the money of anyone who enjoyed that previous EP.

4 / 5

SUBLIRITUM: "A Touch of Death"

Keep of Kalessin might not be the thing in the underground right now, considering their appearance in the Eurovision Song Contest a year back, this event triggering a flood of youngsters hailing the band’s name, but the truth is that the group has their own epic and extreme thing going on, and I personally consider ”Armada” a quite damn nice album. Subliritum’s recent release A Touch of Death brings me back to that certain record because we’re dealing with very, very similar music here. No surprise there, as Keep of Kalessin’s singer Thebon is handling guest vocals vocals every now and then, not to forget the session drums battered by no-one else than Vyl from the aforementioned group as well.

The comparison above basically means that A Touch of Death is melodic, semi-technical, partially epic, fast and well-produced black metal. Old Man’s Child is another fitting name to drop here, as is Arcturus’ Sideshow Symphonies due to some occasional clean vocals that are pretty much identical to ICS Vortex’s  output. 

The fact that I am able to compare A Touch of Death to so many bands tells already that there’s not much room for uniqueness, and no matter how crushing some heavy sections and how sweet some melodic passages here are, there’s always a layer of safeness and predictability over the music. This is of course just a matter of taste, and the reader might be aware of my inclination towards raw and not-that-careful black metal, so in my books the tameness is a minus. In its own category, meaning modern melodic black metal, I see no reason why this wouldn’t appeal to the style’s fans, as A Touch of Death is evidently a thoughtfully crafted work, and I haven’t come across a better album in its field in some time.

As said, A Touch of Death has its specific fanbase that will most likely revere the album’s blasting rapidity and lush guitar solos. Those merely into uglier and filthier old school metal should logically stay away. I guess I’m somewhere in the middlegrounds as I’m able to spot the group’s talent but in the same time the compositions don’t really move me. Bring something more daring to the game and yours truly is much more impressed already.

3 / 5

HAGL: "Irminsul"

Just like I thought when I reviewed Hagl’s previous album Nearer to Victory, this Russian group fixed all the glitches present on previous material and now comes up with Irminsul, a quite damn captivating black metal release that has just the right balance between the somewhat folkish melodies and the harshness of black / thrash metal, all this provided in a rough, sharp and natural production.

The constant fierceness and fast pace of the record makes Irminsul no easy listening at first, but after several spins the riffs’ ingenuity starts to shine, and I am not able to spot one weak track from this 9-track whole, starting from the brief intro (which is not some unnecessary synth playing one fade-in note, but real instrumentation that seamlessly flows into ”Drakkar”) and continuing through all the wistful, emotional melodies to the proud and aggressive sections. The players’ musicianship is a pleasure to listen to, most evident on the adventurous ”Instrumental” which gives a little room for the bass guitar also. Towards the end, ”Raven” and ”In the Whisper of Winds” give some space to distortionless guitars as well, and it all adds to the album’s epic sound.

It’s not that Hagl creates anything remarkably unique here on Irminsul, but they know how to create good riffs and melodies off quite traditional ideas, and I can’t complain. Luckily there’s no longer that cheap distortion effect on vocals, instead they now sound natural and pretty strongly in the vein of Lutomysl. For musical comparisons, think of all the many Eastern European black metal acts and also a little bit of Goatmoon, and you get a general picture of Hagl’s style of black metal.

There’s no need to go into fully detailed depictions when it comes to Irminsul’s individual songs; what only needs to be said is that Irminsul does its job admirably throughout and gets a warm recommendation from me if you’re generally into the style. Irminsul was already recorded three years ago (kind of the same thing with the previous album recorded in 2005 and not released until last year) which makes wonder if these Russians have already something new to unleash, and hopefully it won’t take that long again.

4 / 5

OMISION: "In the Shadow of the Cross"

If we were to categorize countries to specific metal genres, I would put Mexico to death metal without a moment’s hesitation. That promising and blossoming has been the country’s output for a long time already, and Omision’s In the Shadow of the Cross is another addition to Mexico’s long list of old school death metal albums.

And while it doesn’t offer anything new and truly exciting (no surprise there), Omision’s debut effort is among the better albums in the field of 90s death metal, luckily not only dwelling in the Swedish inlfuences, but more prominently in suchs bands as Deicide and Incantation. The theme of anti-Christiany is fittingly carried through these savage compositions that relent only on the acoustic outro ”For Those Far Away”. Before that the listener faces ten tracks of morbid death executed with down-tuned riffs, grunted vocals and great drumwork.

The production deserves a mention here too, as it successfully evokes an atmosphere of utter darkness and evil without any overcompression. The sound is very natural and perhaps slightly low-fi for someone’s ears. The best moments of the album reside in the string of two tracks, ”Assault in the Vatican” and ”Beyond the Burning Gates”, of which the former convinces with its slow menace and the latter with its with pummelling drums and overall kick-ass riffage.

What comes to memorable compositions, after the two aforementioned songs there’s a slight downhill. As a supporter of short albums, I would have probably omitted a track or two from this whole, but I am not bored at any point anyways. Those more deeply into all kinds of old school death metal will find even more to enjoy from In the Shadow of the Cross, of that I’m sure. Do not touch this one if you’re only into the most modern and fastest extreme metals out there.

3 / 5

VAMPILLIA: "Rule the World / Deathtiny Land"

Often when bands deliberately try to be avant-garde, weird, posing in oh so crazy masks in promo pictures, I have zero interest to look into the band. This was also the case with Vampillia’s recent EP, Rule the World / Deathtiny Land, but fortunately I eventually checked it out in spite of all reservations, because it turned out to be quite a beautiful journey through various (and mixed) emotions.

Most importantly, it’s the orchestral parts of the EP that truly stand out, being really intricate and well executed pieces. An easy example could be the classical ”One Day I Thought the World...” and ”Made My Mind to Dominate...” followed by the climatic post-rock ”Day of Departure...” that also incorporates the first signs of metal. But the metal is always in minor role, the soundscape being dominated by orchestral string instruments, clean female singing and some male grunting. The songs are really brief, some lasting mere fifteen seconds, ”Switch and Bomb / Melody Tinborn” running for only four seconds. This all reminds me of Diabolical Masquerade’s Death’s Design combined with Fantômas. Then there’s the rhythmic ”A Deceptive Attack...” that jams like a track from Omar Rodriguez-Lopez’s some solo album.

A lot of ideas have been packed into this short 25-minute whole, making Rule the World / Deathtiny Land seem first really incoherent, passing from an ear to another, hence multiple listens are required for proper comprehension. The EP might not be entirely mindblowing but definitely a worthwile effort crafted with care and vision, also the rather low fidelity sound fits the flowing atmosphere of the record: the last thing this would need is a mood-killing sterile production. No explanations needed, this will most likely appeal to fans of a heavy avant-garde touch in their metal.

3.5 / 5

SATAN'S HOST: "By the Hands of the Devil"

Having gone through various phases during its lengthy career, from the classic heavy metal of late 80s to the blackened death metal of late 2000s, Satan’s Host is now back with the original singer from Metal from Hell era, namely Harry Conkling. The result on By the Hands of the Devil is something like a mix of the two previous approaches, combining the darkness and Satanism of black metal and heaviness of death metal with Conkling’s clean heavy/power metal vocals.

And quite an interesting and successful combo it is. There are few bands who truly interest me in the field of power metal singing, but when it’s mixed with the utterly dark instrumentation and atmosphere, it all works. The eponymoys ”By the Hands of the Devil” makes sure of this already with its adventurous song progressions and epic chorus. Other noteworthy mentions of the album’s first half are ”Demontia” and the interlude-of-sorts ”Bleeding Hearts of the Damned”, the latter being a hypnotic, ritualistic and beautiful wandering amidst clean guitars and tom drums. I’m not able to spot as good tracks on the second half, but The Beatles cover ”Norwegian Wood” is a little surprise there, being an upbeat and folkish piece with church burning lyrics. I drank of the blood, Dark Lord Satan...

With a modern and in-your-face clean production, and an overdose of rather clinical and unnecessarily precise blast beats, By the Hands of the Devil might not have the charm of the scruffy Metal from Hell that I personally really like, but this album is clearly a well-thought whole that maybe runs for a little too long, but comprises some quite damn good compositions nonetheless. This could turn into a vital record for some of those who merely enjoy the most extreme of metals and despise classic high-pitched clean singing, because his/her opinion might just change after hearing By the Hands of the Devil. The album has been in relatively frequent rotation and will continue to do so - a sign of a good record.

3 / 5

HYPERBOREAN: "The Spirit of Warfare"

As a heavy consumer of hissing, dusty black metal tape demos, polished and melodic black metal has never triggered any proper interest in me. But if the former was always done as successfully as on Hyperborean’s The Spirit of Warfare, my general opinion would most likely change.

The most important thing is that Hyperborean doesn’t even try to sound really evil and morbid, hence the clear sound fits the soundscape which is laden with lead melodies à la Horn, though it could be better to mention some death metal bands at this point, since The Spirit of Warfare, with its myriad of melodies, could be seen better as a death- than black metal album, also due to its adventurous song progressions that are quite far from cold and monotonous black metal. However, one can still notice a clear Dissection influence running through the album’s veins.

At its best, The Spirit of Warfare is on ”Weapon Mankind” where a solid piano melody and emotional tremelo guitars work together beautifully, and another highlight is the ten-minute centerpiece ”The Last Stand of Leonidas and the Battle of Thermopylaye” that focuses more on creating atmosphere - with the help of subtle synths - rather than tight guitarwork. What comes to the album’s negative sides, there’s the production that, even if I can accept the overall clear sound, could sound more full, as right now there’s a slight lack of bass guitar and the drums are somewhat plastic.

It’s not that The Spirit of Warfare changes my life nor my general impression of melodic black metal, but it’s the kind of album that I really enjoy listening to every now and then, thus deserving a favorable rating. I could see The Spirit of Warfare as an ideal album for someone not really into black metal, as his first steps towards an explorable genre. And, logically, those merely into the filthiest of sounds better avoid this one.

3 / 5

FORGOTTEN TOMB: "Under Saturn Retrograde"

I’d consider myself as one of the many who enjoyed Forgotten Tomb’s first albums - Songs to Leave and Springtime Depression in particular - to a great extent, those albums being some of the cornerstone albums of the suicidal black/doom metal phenomenom, but since 2007’s Negative Megalomania and its upbeat rock elements, the downfall began. On their newest offering Under Saturn Retrograde, the band continues on this renewed path, meaning rather accessible compositions in a clear production with almost zero signs of the mournful melodies of the first albums. However, I wouldn’t go as far as calling this effort a total failure, because it’s very audible that Under Saturn Retrograde is a thoughtfully crafted album.

To depict the band’s current sound, one could think of modern Katatonia’s (The Great Cold Distance, Night Is the New Day) pulsating metal / rock rhythms and bright sound, combined with Shining’s lunacy. This all is most evidently witnessed on the first track "Reject Existence" and the two other rather chorus-based followers, "Shutter" and "Downlift", after which a surprisingly decent The Stooges cover "I Wanna Be Your Dog" appears. Next up is the goth-full "Joyless" that, albeit having some pretty nice and delicate melodies in the end, is a slight moodkiller with its HIM and Sentenced influences, especially in the clear vocal department. "Under Saturn Retrograde Part I" is the fastest and most black metal song on the album, followed by the opposite "Part II" which relents a little with acoustic guitars and sweet bass guitar lines. "You Can’t Kill Who’s Already Dead" runs a little too long for its 9-minute length, but "Spectres Over Venice" is there to compensate, being the album’s highlight with its great ending chord progressions.

It must be stated again that Forgotten Tomb is no longer the same band it was during early 2000s; Under Saturn Retrograde is a rather sophisticated dark metal / rock album from which a devoted DSBM lover won’t find much to enjoy. But in regard to what the band plays nowadays, they do it with success. It might not be what I’d personally listen to on a daily basis, but will certainly, and generally speaking, trigger the interest of a slightly younger and mainstream audience who are not interested in lo-fi suicidal black metal bands.

3 / 5

ARVET: "Aijna"

It’s been four years since Arvet put out its first tape demo Elävän Kuoleman Aamuna, followed by the EP Ihmiskärsimys a year later, both releases prominently dwelling in melancholy, not unlike a plethora of other Finnish black metal acts of late times that lean toward depressive black metal without the pitifulness usually attached to the sub-genre. These bands, instead, shine with occult ideologies and on Aijna, Arvet’s first full-length, the band moves further away from evident depression, introducing a lot of dissonant melody and overall filthiness to the music. The result is something utterly possessed, yet still so beautiful.

Looking at Aijna’s roster, a grand change is visible: Noxifer is no longer the only one responsible for the instruments, as he’s joined by a full line-up of members with strong Saturnian Mist relations. A four headed assembly doesn’t, however, result in precise and professional playing, not at all; Arvet sounds filthier than ever, not only because the instruments are executed with intuitive touch (instead of sitting in the studio recording the fifteenth take of each song), but also production-wise the band still feasts on dusty, low-fidelity soundscapes.

Musically, Aijna took me by surprise right in the beginning when ”Kuoleman Äiti” crawls maliciously with seemingly almost indecipherable dissonance, until a Si Monumentum esque lead melody escorts the track with distant, haunting screams somewhere in the background. Soon after the ’proper’ black metal hits, all the fury reminding me of Verge’s Hatemagic to a great extent - not only this song, but the whole album in general. A clearer example could be ”Rukous Mestarillisen Ajatuksen Oivaltamiseksi” that fluctuates between rapid blasts and slower beats, and closer to the end the melodies rise to heart-rending beauty. In fact, this pattern seems to apply to many of the songs: starting with more rapidity, the tracks progress into quite epic melodies in the end. During first listens, these compositions say little, but after a month of regular listening, I realize they’re all done pretty damn well, including the long outro of ”Liekehtivä Dharana” in which a simple, ritualistic discordance is being repeated for multiple minutes.

If the music alone feels hard to digest, the lyrics are even a level higher. While I was pretty much able to decipher the themes of e.g. mortification on Ihmiskärsimys, Aijna goes wider and deeper into occult subjects in a way that only an advanced explorer of esoteric beliefs can comprehend. The lyrics are spewed out with true feeling by both Zetekh and Noxifer, and the actual content is an important, if not even mandatory, part of Aijna. Personally there’s a lot of unlocked doors in the maze of Aijna for me, and it’ll still take quite a long while to work out everything. But as the thing with comprehensive albums always goes, it isn't required to understand everything and that is what brings a nice charm to a record.

With its intriguing song progressions, authentic and raw sound, intricate occult imagery and symbolic lyrics blazing with ardor, I dare to say that Aijna deserves its place among other modern Finnish classics-to-come, or cult legends, such as IC Rex’s Valonkantajan Alkemia even if I’m already quite certain that - all unnecessary elitism aside - only few can see Aijna’s appeal due to its ultimately challenging nature both musically and thematically.

4.5 / 5

MOONLIGHT: "Rex Diabolos"

It is not only the northern soil of Scandinavia that thrives on ice cold black metal, this has been proved by a plethora of recent groups hailing from southern abodes of America, such as Patria from Brazil. Moonlight is another addition to the list of blizzarding black metal acts from an unusual location, this time from Mexico, offering a full hour of piercing and evil black metal, handled by mere one man.

Rex Diabolos is, indeed, long. And especially too long for its uncompromising style that shows no signs of innovation, following the footsteps of Dark Funeral and Marduk quite closely. But now putting aside the usual nagging about unoriginality for a moment, Ishtar does deliver the shivering tremolo riffs with authenticity, the only complaint being the occasional shredding guitar solos that definitely don’t fit to the album’s overall atmosphere. The solo on the last song ”Sacrilegus Oratio (Part 2)” is, however, pretty damn epic, showing a surprising amount of technical ability that you wouldn’t have guessed beforehand from the otherwise simple black metal. Drums are, unfortunately, programmed but it doesn’t ruin the atmosphere as they’re mixed enough low, giving the riffs their deserved main role.

While the foundation of the traditional black metal is evidently fine here, Rex Diabolos clearly lacks proper highlights. The album does flow nicely, but the compositions do little to affect a listener who’s gone through a million similar albums in the past. Hence it becomes hard to recommend Rex Diabolos to any specific listener base, as newbies to black metal would better look into the innovators from early 90s, and experienced listeners won’t find much, if anything, to rejoice from the album. I’m tempted to go for a two star rating, but perhaps a half star more is vaguely deserved due to the record’s overall playability and non-harassing nature.

2.5 / 5

SPEARHEAD: "Theomachia"

Furious and militant black / death metal, yeah yeah, all too seen area. Spearhead is one of those rather recent acts that don’t much, or in this case at all, care for sweet and calmful melodic passages; instead, this is pure war. And while the result of an album-lenght of mere savage violence can often end up being a very tiresome listening experience, this band’s third full-length Theomachia hits the right spots and does not sound dull at all.

The key to the album’s success is how damn tightly they execute their instruments in relatively fast speeds, not unlike Impiety. If we want to drop more names, Morbid Angel and Angelcorpse are another names worth mentioning here, as those bands’ fans will most likely enjoy what they hear on Theomachia, an album full of ass kicking and chaotic riffage - with the exceptions of the brief interlude ”Praesagium” and the last track ”Aftermath” with its focus on discordant atmosphere. What comes to the uniqueness of the album’s compositional work, well, there’s not really any of that. But in a case like Theomachia, which deliberately feasts on primitive death / black metal ideas initiated twenty years ago already, it does not matter.

Due to its ultimately unsurprising nature, I can’t say Theomachia is a true masterpiece, but in its category a real treat anyhow. Production-wise, the album sounds sharp and crisp, a necessity for a violent effort like this. There’s no need to go much further into specific details of tracks; all that needs to be said at this point is that this war machine is a recommendable album for the fans of the groups mentioned in the paragraph above. I doubt they’d be disappointed.

3.5 / 5