ARS DIAVOLI: "Clausura"

Six years ago (whew...) I remember buying Ars Diavoli's demo tape The Absence of Light, and how I listened to it quite a bit back then, enjoying its ear-shattering roughness combined with the melancholic melodies. Years pass and Clausura, Vilkacis' second full-length album already, has been out a long time by now, but I started digesting it only recently. Perhaps my lack of enthusiasm to follow the band's activities is corollary of the major debut Pro Nihilo Esse not impressing me properly, and unfortunately I'm having somewhat similar thoughts on the second effort, another album that kind of lingers in the already heard ideas.

Simply put, Clausura is depressive black metal. A load of reverby atmosphere with guitars fluctuating between the distorted tremolo picking and clean note plucking. Steady drumbeats are provided by a tad too clear drum machine, and mostly in tempos that verge on doom metal. Some exceptions do occur, like the rather fast-paced beginning of ”Momento Inerte”, but the general speed is slow, and fittingly so. There's no major flaws in the music here, the only yet too severe glitch is the fact that there's nothing really refreshing about Clausura: it's depressive black metal by the book: funereal atmospheres, evocations of hopeslessness, the inescapable decay of all living...

Giving this album a listen in total darkness and in the right state of mind may, or must, result in a more positive impression than giving it a go in the middle of all the daily fuss. I'm too often guilty of inclining towards the latter category, a category that does not go hand in hand with something like Clausura. If depressive landscapes in the rather traditional black metal way haven't bored you by now, Ars Diavoli's second album is most likely a worthwile album to check out. And even if you find the subgenre tiresome, there's no way of saying that Clausura was somehow badly done. Not at all. For my taste, it is just a bit too predictable.

3 / 5

BLACK HOWLING: "A Soul Departed to the Unknown"

In addition to the full-length Melancholy of a Pagan Bucolic Spirit, another release, named A Soul Departed to the Unknown, came out at the same date, offering a single 18-minute piece of raw, inconsistent, wandering black metal as Black Howling as always, and a sweet supplement it indeed is to the full-length, conveying atmospheres of even darker, more haunting territories than the nature centered album.

A recurring mysterious melody, though very obscurely audible by guitars, is prominent thanks to the underlying bass guitar and the synths, kicking in the EP in raw, next to indecipherable mess of a production. It is spacey, gloomy, and requires proper attention - listening to this with bad speakers is no option, unless you're aiming for harsh noise wall or a similar subgenre... The song retains its somewhat structured form (a basic beat in moderate tempo and distant unhinged screechs along with the other instrumentation) until around seven minutes when things (hell) get loose and all seems to be partially improvised chaos, and it works to great extents! Slowly, the songs shapes up again, gradually involving the ethereal keyboard notes in, tom drums pummelling in the background. The final explosion doesn't happen until the shivering moment at 15:30 when the brisance shatters the black metal chaos all around, and some time later fades out.

From the above it becomes evident that this is no worthless additional material paling in the shadow of the full-length, but an actual, individual Black Howling release deserving the same attention as any other output of theirs. To some degree, I even think it beats its big brother, though these two aren't distinctively comparable, as explained by their subtly different thematical approach. Some criticism could be directed to the packaging, the CD being in a DVD case which isn't to my personal likings as it makes shelving a pain in the ass, but this nagging is of course in minor role as the focus is on the music which is once again quality Black Howling, recommended to the explorers of the Portuguese underground that never stops delivering.

3.5 / 5

BLACK HOWLING: "Melancholy of a Pagan Bucolic Spirit"

Black Howling is another prominent act in the fields of raw Portuguese black metal. While the short while ago reviewed Satanize, for example, accelerates in swift songs, Black Howling is the antipode in that their songs tend to widen to over twenty minutes in length, the desperate atmosphere further conveyed by a rather slow pace. Melancholy of a Pagan Bucolic Spirit is a full-length in that very vein, comprising two long pieces that challenge the listener in both its rawness as well as duration.

A creepy intro crawls in on the eponymous first song, and right around the first minute mark the slowly picked, massively distorted guitar pattern billows to the listener's ears. This is the main line, this ominous and simple line, that gets repeated to near eternity with subtle variations - but only in a good sense, as I personally am a lover of the effect of repetition in black metal. The song surges forward with inhuman rasps of the vocalist, until a kind-of-breakdown around eleven minutes, after which the guitars also incorporate some higher notes into the slowly swinging rhythm, and there's also some palm-muted riffage momentarily. "The Shadow I'm Meant to Be" follows its predecessor with almost disturbingly similar guitar work, but of what I'm particularly fond of here are the clean vocals that appear for a very short while when the drummer takes a break.

Disgust and gloominess - these are some of the main elements that dominate Melancholy of a Pagan Bucolic's sound sceneries, and the listener can only genuflect in front of the guitar walls' power. Although there's nothing ingeniously unique in the melodies themselves, the whole is a very affective piece of black metal that authentically shows its contempt of modernity, but also the glorification of pagan ancestry. Where the album stands in the light of Black Howling's back catalogue, I am not entirely sure as their output is consistently enjoyable, but a sure thing is that a fan of this duo can't go wrong here. It contains less additional sound sources if compared to e.g. the 2012 full-length's piano notes, so Melancholy of a Pagan Bucolic is Black Howling in its purest essence: noisy, atmospheric black metal with basic instrumentation.

3.5 / 5

GRAVEWÜRM: "Blood of the Pentagram"

When I witnessed Gravewürm live back in 2009, it didn't say much and paled a lot in comparison to the spectacles performed that very night by Satanic Warmaster, Drowning the Light, and Arghoslent. Gravewürm was just a couple of normal looking guys playing very, almost absurdly simple power chord riffs. On album, it was even worse as it included a drum machine. But I guess that something has went terribly wrong in my head as after the gig I've slowly grown to enjoy this demented simplicity and cheap computer beats and bought Dark Souls of Hell straight from the label Barbarian Wrath. Shortly after that it was announced that Blood of the Pentagram would be the band's last album, so here it is, the grande finale of Gravewürm. This one must be epic.

Is it? Hell no. The band keeps its roots strongly in the very same style they begun with, meaning Hellhammer, Venom and the likes influenced old school black metal with hints of doom and death. The first track ”Goat Command” sets the mood for the rest of the album already. A lot of palm-muted old school riffage and evil, almost whispered vocals on top, plus the steady and sharp drum machine beats in the background. I guess that at least vaguely there's a bit more mysteriousness in the melodies than previously, like e.g. the lead melodies of ”Deeper Dungeons” and ”Necromance” suggest. Also worth noting is the title track with is rhythmic war march that impressed yours truly. ”Two Coins for Charon” surprises with its synths that hint towards Countess, and a definitely welcome feature it is.

Despite the somewhat surprising elements I mentioned in the paragraph above, Blood of the Pentagram is ultimately simple music from its core, and when it it summed to the bedroom level production, I don't think many will enjoy the album - or the whole band in general. Hence it is hard to recommend something like this, but I personally find it satisfying. Of course an album of this sort that comprises twelve tracks is bound to include filler material and this is no exception, but it doesn't matter much. Gravewürm stands true to its uncompromising, primitive approach, and I won't complain. If I had something proper to complain about, it would be the cover art that has for some reason changed from the usual Gravewürm scheme (a stylish painting) to a very common bestial black metal artwork. Not that this cover wouldn't reflect the band's sound – perhaps this is just a more apt cover for the band.

3.5 / 5

MURW: "In de Mond van Het Onbekende Wacht Een Oceaan"

How long can it actually take to get around to review an album? Well, there are other examples as well that have taken a billion years before I've had anything proper to say about the content, mostly due to complex and profound lyrics that I've wanted to analyze better than every layman's Darkthrone pastiche, but Murw's demo from a couple of years back is such a weird affair that it has challenged me quite successfully. On In de Mond van Het Onbekende Wacht Een Oceaan, this Dutch group delivers fifty minutes of underground and rather low fidelity black metal that, despite my expectations of traditional black metal, does compromise a lot.

Things seem natural when the beautiful guitar melodies of the intro kick in, and when the murky main riff of the first proper track appears, a tad later joined by steady blast beats. But it takes less than four minutes when Striborg esque odd synths distort the atmosphere into something quite unique. From there on and throughout the playing time, In de Mond... crawls forth like a convulsing ugly worm with all kinds of unexpected twists in a rather slow tempo, but the beauty aspect first fronted in the intro is carried throughout the record as well, appearing in a myriad of lead guitar melodies. Yes, there's a lot of melody in here despite the extremely challenging nature of the album.

I feel uneasy right now, struggling to come up with words describing In de Mond... and I suppose it is both a positive and negative thing. Murw has most certainly created a musical journey unlike anyone else, but it is also hard to find anything really grabbing from the complex mess, save a couple of the lead melodies. Musicianship is pretty top notch, no question of that, these guy seem professional at what they're doing in spite of the overall demo spirit. There's plenty of groove in the drums and the guitars get pretty damn wild at times. In de Mond van Het Onbekende Wacht Een Oceaan is an interesting experience that perhaps just lacks truly impressive songwriting (or then I just haven't given it enough time), hence it's a good listen but I can't say I ever remember much of it afterwards.

3 / 5

VUOHI: "The Rising Era of Goat"

Judging by the cover and overall aesthetics, my initial impression of Vuohi's The Rising Era of Goat was that it would be a feast on cold, northern black metal, hailing the second wave to maximum, so it is somewhat surprising to hear how much there's also death metal and grindcore within this mix of utterly violent extreme metal that barely lasts over twenty minutes - albeit including ten tracks in total.

Vuohi's proper black metal appears infrequently. The first three swift pieces are full of thick, buzzing death metal guitars and grindcore tempos, and it is not until the fourth track "Flame" that is almost a 180 degree turn into melancholic, mid-tempo black metal à la Baptism or some similar native act of the blackest arts. After this certain track, the Impaled Nazarene esque barbarism is back on "(In the Name of) Ultimate Humanity", but black metalish nuances can still be spotted from various different corners of the album. But for the most part, it's the death metalish chaos, sickness and decadence that holds its grip the firmest throughout the songs.

As can be expected, the compositions don't blossom in originality, but it can not be denied that the band does play very tightly. There isn't really anything I could complain about in the instrument nor vocal department (the latter nicely fluctuating between higher pitched screams and low growls, reminiscent of Belphegor). It is just that this kind of race of speed is not hundred percent my thing (hence tracks like "Flames" stand out), even if there's nothing actually harassing or wrong in it. Also, the production is nicely somewhere between clear and dirty, which is good. So why wouldn't I give my recommendation to The Rising Era of Goat, if this sounds like your thing? Go ahead and check it out, these guys know what they're doing, and it is evident.

3 / 5

AMBER SOLSTICE: "Elixir of Passion"

Throughout my short yet quite prolific hobby at reviewing promos, I’ve managed pretty well to avoid getting into situations when I am supposed to review an album that I really don’t want to listen to at all. I don’t think I’m very narrow-minded or anything, but yes, there are still such genres out there to which I wouldn’t like to use any of my little free time.

Amber Solstice’s debut Elixir of Passion is, however, a change to the paradigm - now behold this novelty! Here this four-piece Russian group plays some sort of synth pop that occasionally meets with heavier distorted guitars and even some real drums at times. But for the most part, Elixir of Love is techno beats, futuristic sounds and rather embarrassing vocal delivery, both male and female. All in all, listening to the album is reminiscent of the feeling of listening to a nineties’ B grade pop record and being unable to understand how it could have been done seriously back then.

”In Passion” and ”Elixir of Love” don’t show the metal elements much except in some distant rhythm guitars in the background, but on the third track ”The Dreams” the guitars and drums kick in properly, and based on a song like that, I could perhaps recommend the album to fans Pain from Sweden. If I had to choose, this certain track would probably the album’s highlight. After that, Elixir of Love returns to the awkward pop melodies and sounds, though perhaps ”Wherever You Are” could still be mentioned as an okay piece that focuses more on atmosphere. A couple of remixes are added to the album’s end, and no further comments to those except that they’re the kind of pieces you hear can hear on dance floors of your closest night club, so...

Add the even more embarrassing love themed lyrics (written in a cheap font with the bold and italic effects at the booklet) to the music, not to forget the odd cover in which two robot-like human figures (?) kiss each other that kind of speaks for itself, and in result you get an album that, well, at least I can not stand. The potential fanbase resides somewhere entirely else than in yours truly’s ears. But I doubt that many readers of the blog would be interested in this album, anyway, so at this point I think I can safely conclude this review and get back putting Vetala’s new Live Evil tape as well as Cornigr’s Relics of Inner War to my beloved tape deck. And to make it hundred percent clear: there’s no offense meant towards anyone in this review, but I wholeheartedly think it’s just in totally wrong hands.

0.5 / 5

THE ROYAL ARCH BLASPHEME: "The Royal Arch Blaspheme"

Not that long ago I introduced myself to a certain big USBM project, Profanatica, whose string player John Gelso has now teamed up with no-one else than Imperial of e.g. Krieg fame. The latter person’s work in the realm of black metal I’m a little more familiar with, so seeing these two guys together releasing an album full of filthy black metal is indeed intriguinig.

The Royal Arch Blaspheme is the name of this entity that ravages on ten tracks of primitive death / black metal on their self-titled debut. Tempo kept usually at relatively moderate levels, this filthiness crawls forth not by any fast speeds but by the utter menace of the evil reeking tremolo riffs - a fine example of the relative slowness would be the album ender ”Kingdom of Perversions” that would fit well under the tag doom metal. But for the most part, The Royal Arch Blaspheme comprises quite a static blast beat throughout many songs on which the riffs appear. The guitar ideas here don’t flourish in diversity but who would have expected that anyways? Just expect a big load of Beherit influenced old school worshipping, overall.

While Profanatica’s Disgusting Blasphemies Against God had one certain feature that made it stand above the masses of similar albums (the cavernous, bass-full production), I find that The Royal Arch Blaspheme is lacking that specific feature that would make it truly memorable. Sure, Imperial’s convincing growls and shrieks are a pleasure to hear and the overall atmosphere is pretty well crafted darkness, but on this album the production seems rather to be a minus: the programmed drums are clear to a slightly annoying extent and also otherwise the whole sound seems to in need of heaviness. That said, The Royal Arch Blaspheme does not reach as far as many others in the field, but is certainly a worthwile effort to look into if this definite cult style of black metal appeals to you.

2.5 / 5

DENOUNCEMENT PYRE: "World Cremation"

Albeit Denouncement Pyre’s major debut World Cremation, finally released after a slew of demos and EPs, does not revel in any novel ideas at all, it is funny how some albums still click with rightness. This album seems to do it somehow in spite of its very standard mixture of black, death and a hint of thrash - and mostly old school, of course.

I wouldn’t, however, go as far as saying there’s absolutely nothing innovative here. True, these blastings and evil tremolo riffs sound familiar to anyone who’s even slightly aware of the style, but careful attention to details reveals some genious reworkings of ideas used on various other records in the past, such as the sudden clean yet mysterious chords on ”Purification” and the nicely done Beherit and Archgoat worship on the following track ”Coven of Diabolical Prophecies” (one of the album’s highlights) - or just the sheer ferocity of certain sections on ”Black Womb of Magdalene”. Not to forget the bookend, 7-minute ”Invination of Poison” that features the most original ideas of the bunch with its interesting, semi-melodic guitar lines and almost grooving drums.

Production-wise, World Cremation lacks almost all bass (well okay, it is there but not that much audible), so that the album is a real feast on high-end, sharp and piercing guitars. The tightness and near-absence of bass might be the reason why this album doesn’t garner as much attention as names like Profanatica and Nocturnal Blood receive with their cavernous and morbid sounds that are easy to rejoice in. My only advice to those who are reluctant to give this album a proper go because of the not-that-heavy sound is to try to realize the sheer kick ass quality of these compositions that don’t need the facades of reverb and bass.

My first spin of World Cremation was when the album was in its release stages and it was freely streamable via some website. I remember liking it but somehow pretty much forgot it until I now got it in my hands for review purposes, and luckily I did as it turned out to grow much more after a few additional runs. World Cremation isn’t, of course, anything revolutionary by any means, and some songs clearly pale in comparison to some others, but heck how I do enjoy this blackened death menace all the way through. Do yourself a favor and check it out too if it happens to hit the right spots in you as well.

3.5 / 5

PROSANCTUS INFERI: "Pandemonic Ululations of Vesperic Palpitation"

When a Black Funeral guitarist forms another group, I would have expect something piercincly cold industrial black metal again, but that is quite far from the truth in the case of Prosanctus Inferi that delivers some utterly disgusting death metal on their major debut Pandemonic Ululations of Vesperic Palpitation.

All the thirteen songs are brief, resulting in a less than 26-minute whole, and musically they are utterly disgusting and chaotic, swift pieces of all that is rotten and abominant. The songs seem very incoherent as the drums blast the hell out of everything all the way through and guitars deliver insane lines of discordance that is very hard to grab on. Listening to Pandemonic Ululations of Vesperic Palpitations throughout is like a dive into a whirlwind in which one loses all control of himself and sucks up everything that this morbid creature compels.

A careful and devoted listener might eventually find Pandemonic Ululations of Vesperic Palpitations enough catchy, but for a regular listener this will be that very whirlwind. But does that matter in the end? I’d guess that’s one of the points of the album: a totally fucked up feast on crumbling menace that lives for the spirit rather than compositional values.

In spite of the music’s chaotic nature, the production deserves a favorable mention. It’s natural and, in a way, warm, so that although the actual music might be a total mess at times, every second of the album is still pleasure to the ears. Pandemonic Ululations of Vesperic Palpitations does not blow my mind with ingenuity but is still a worthwile effort to check out of ugly and bestial death / black metal bands appeal to you - basically meaning all kinds of bands that American labels Nuclear War Now! and Hells Headbangers usually convey.

2.5 / 5

DRÜNKEN BASTARDS: "Horns of the Wasted"

From the band name to the album title, one might guess the deal right here. Yes, you guessed right: alcohol influenced punky and blackened thrash metal, no more or no less. Not your thing? Proceed no further. Drünken Bastards' second full-length Horns of the Wasted delivers seven tracks and nineteen minutes of d-beats, simple power chord hell, some thrash and speed metal guitar licks and an overall spirit of a bunch of drunk friends having fun worshipping the likes of Barbatos, Abigail and Motörhead.

The actual music, then, certainly doesn’t revel in novel ideas, as can be deduced. There’s very little material on Horns of the Wasted that truly grabs my attention: one of the few might be ”Destroy the Factory (Eat My Fuk)” with its catchy chorus and there are occasional solos dropped in some corners of the album that are quite well delivered metal-to-the-bone twirlings - these raise their heads nicely from the mass of rather generic thrash bludgeoning.

One word of warning if you’re planning to invest in Horns of the Wasted and already have rest of Drünken Bastards’ back catalogue: this album contains no new tracks! They have all appeared previously on either their 2007 debut Posercrusher or on some of their three splits, but at least these are new recordings of them, of course.

Recommending Horns of the Wasted to anyone else than likers of the bands mentioned in the first paragraph is hard, because the mindset of a slightly tongue-in-check release like this will certainly not appeal to those who require a tad more seroiusness from their metal. I am able to see the appeal of some of the ideas here and the sharp production does fit the band well, but I can’t say I would see myself returning to Horns of the Wasted that often - not only because its style doesn’t meet with my usual taste, but because this has been done so many times in the past already - and with better success.

2 / 5

PROFANATICA: "Disgusting Blasphemies Against God"

Although Profanatica has a long history dating back to the very early 90s, the band’s second full-length Disgusting Blasphemies Against God is my introduction to the their music, and a very sweet one it is. The deal here is rather simple: morbid, rotten death / black metal that mocks every possible aspect of Christianity.

Covered in a layer of cavernous bass guitar - which works as the driving force of the record in all its overpowering - the compositions on Disgusting Blasphemies Against God differ little from each other. At times the tempo might be a tad slower and doomier while at times it’s sheer blast beat crushing all the way through, and a song like ”Covered in Black Shit” incorporates some doom bell samples; similar little special features can be spotted from many corners of the album, but they are nothing major. The low-end frequency atmosphere that dominates on the record is probably the best feature of the album whereas the songs themselves might lack all originality. When this muddy menace is combined to the harsh, deathly screams, the result is pretty damn working.

In the end, it’s up to the listener if he’s up for a feast on primitive and uncompromising blasphemy and whether the mere overall sound and atmosphere is enough for enjoyment. I personally really like the filthiness here, and such dominance of crumbling bass guitar isn’t something you hear on many records. Disgusting Blasphemies Against God might not lure for repeated listens on a regular basis, but every now and then this morbidity does invite. I might not have dwelled in a plethora of depictions and details here as I review this title but I think that everything necessary has been said, and everyone knows by now whether these 'disgusting blasphemies against god’ will appeal to him.

3 / 5

INQUISITION: "Into the Infernal Regions of the Ancient Cult"

The more time passes by, the more I realize how many bands I have somehow managed to totally miss, bands that have been even essential and foundative in black metal. Inquisition could be mentioned as one of the most important black metal groups from the Americas, so being a newbie to their 1998 major debut Into the Infernal Regions of the Ancient Cult until some days ago was admittedly shameful.

Now that I’ve discovered this gem of nineties’ USBM, I am not only happy because I finally know what’s all the fuzz about, but because the actual material here is brilliant. Inquisition seems to have their own thing going on right on their first full-length, which basically means crushing, almost death metalish riffing that meets hazy, dream-like, atmospheric, melancholic chord pluckings. So while the first part of some certain riff kicks ass with pure power, the latter part of that riff suddenly turns into wistful, tear-evoking mysteriousness. These riffs are often repeated a lot and often even without vocals, an evident example being the 9-minute ”Summoned by Ancient Wizards Under a Black Moon” that has a long instrumental section towards its end.

This massive 66-minute whole is based on this definite element in the guitar department, though there are some interesting deviations from the paradigm, like the folkish, lively tunes that appear a couple of times on ”The Initiation”. For one straight listen, Into the Infernal Regions of the Ancient Cult might be too much to handle, resulting in boredom due to the quite unchanging nature of the compositions, but when savored in a little smaller portions, the music’s ingenuity starts to shine and I can not name one weak track of any of the ten.

By now I’ve already gotten to the fourth paragraph and there’s still been no mention of the vocals that have been the dividing point between the band’s lovers and haters, and ultimately the most distinctive feature of Inquisition. While some find Dagon’s vocal delivery just laughable, I think the almost robotic, frog-like faint snarling works well in these magical pieces of black metal that predominantly concentrate more on atmosphere than the attitude of who’s the heaviest and sickest sounding throat killer of all.

The production deserves a mention too as, in fact, it’s another big plus in the album’s book. It’s warm and detailed yet has just enough sharpness for the power chord riffage and enough smoothness for the melancholic pluckings. Also, drums are recorded with more than just one microphone so that they have a nice amount of detail present, and no complaints either for the bass guitar that together with drums form the well working rhythmic basis of Into the Infernal Regions of the Ancient Cult. 

It might be that at the moment I’m just in a mood of utter Inquisition hype and by next week the album doesn’t sound that special anymore, but right now I’m willing to go as far as handing almost a full score to the record. I’m always hesitant to give this high points for a newly found album, but what the heck, Into the Infernal Regions of the Ancient Cult seems like an endurable album that I’ll be listening to in years to come. The right amount of originality in this sort of underground black metal and the terrific atmosphere makes this piece one of my favourites of late.

4.5 / 5

WACKHANALIJA: "In the Hope of Your Death"

With four full-lengths over the course of ten years, one could expect a tad more popularity from a group like Wackhanalija hailing from Belarus, but to this date the band has remained in almost total obscurity. It has been five years since the last offering, though In the Hope of Your Death, this massive 51-minute album of atmospheric and melodic black metal, was already recorded back in 2006.

I wouldn’t go as far as saying that the band’s non-existent recognizability is due to the music’s low quality, but I can still see that Wackhanalija isn’t inventing anything new here, and when it’s combined to a rather sloppy, polished production where programmed drums are somewhat annoying, the result isn’t really charming. But, without a doubt, there are great ideas presented throughout the album during which the band both accelerates in speed and aggressiveness and also knows how to slow things down to Burzum esque, moody atmospheres.

There’s also a constant undertone of medieval ambiance, mostly thanks to the fine use of synth / midi sounds reminiscent of - once again - Burzum’s prison cell albums. This is apparent on tracks like ”In Embraces of the Black Wood" (probably the highlight of the album) and though they are not concretically present on every song, they somehow intertwine their ambience onto the whole record. The truly magical piano / synths combinations of ”Through Unreality of the Nightmares” are definitely worth mentioning here too. Also, expect a nice load of acoustic guitars (”God of the Fog”, ”Emptiness”, ”Sabbath”) on the album, as well as overall proficiency in the instruments played. This applies to the bass guitar too which is nicely apparent and provides some sweet lines every now and then.

In the end, In the Hope of Your Death does not exactly disappoint yet I do think it’s too long a monster, plus the drum programming clearly isn’t for the band’s good and neither is the overall polished sound that would have profited from a little harsher appearance that could have given the compositions a well needed punch. Fans of Eastern European black metal are the main audience of In the Hope of Your Death, and perhaps I would be one among that audience as well if only the biggest glitches of the album were fixed. Consider the rating somewhere between two and a half and three stars.

2.5 / 5

OPRICH: "North the Boundless"

Exclusive folk metal has never really been my thing, it has always required at least a vague flavour of black metal to trigger my interest to any extent but, admittedly, there are some Eastern European acts that know how to do it right. Oprich’s North the Boundless is close to that, in that it combines aggressiveness with catchy compositions, not to forget the melancholic parts that I always tend to love the most on folk metal albums.

When I say catchy, do not expect any too simple pop song progressions here. What I mean is that on North the Boundless the sharp electric guitar sound brings the best out off the vivid guitar lines common in folk metal. In addition to the guitars, various traditional instruments are prominently incorporated into the music, often delivering the lead melodies. The drum sound is quite bright as well, and in fact the whole album is a rather polished affair that might not be for those who require some filthiness from their metal. The most I’m impressed of the masculine vocal output, both clean and growled, which is almost a necessity on an authentic folk metal piece.

For musical comparisons, Temnozor is easy to mention here, and as a fan of that band, one can guess that I indeed enjoy North the Boundless. It might not contain as epic songs as the aforementioned band inclines to feature on every album, but Oprich is probably deliberately focusing on the upbeat metal tracks, and the melancholic elements are only an occasional spice in the mix. As for individual tracks, I see no reason to mention any specific highlights as the quality remains intact throughout without any clearly weaker tracks.

North the Boundless isn’t the first nor last folk metal offering in this certain Eastern European fashion, and at what it does, it does it well. I would most likely choose a Temnozor album over this one any day, but North the Boundless is nonetheless a worthy investment for those fond of how folk metal is usually handled over at Russia and its neighbour countries. A three star rating is fully deserved in this case.

3 / 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

KRV: "Ograma"

Attacking with black metal from an unusual country Bosnia and Herzegovina, KRV delivers a solid album of traditional elements, mixing hateful chords with a pleasant amount of epic melancoly. The band’s fourth and also last album Ograma does not play with unnecessary gimmicks; these ten songs (excluding the short ambient bookends) are authentically executed in an asphyxiating soundscape, making the album an oppressive experience, mostly in a positive way.

Sung in their native language, Ograma’s message doesn’t really transfer to the listener, but the music itself is enough captivating to make an endurable whole. Not a single track truly stand out from another; the material seems constantly enjoyable even if definitely unsurprising. Instruments are handled with rather careful tightness, tremolo fire doing its job admirably, not to forget the steady drumwork nor the low-pitch growling. The previously mentioned production, though, makes it all sound a little incoherent and tremulous, hence harder to get into.

The lack of truly outstanding compositions is, surprise surprise, the main glitch of Ograma. Those looking for proper innovation from their black art will most likely be disappointed by the record, but for others Ograma might provide a plentiful amount of good riffage. Not a groundbreaking record whatsoever, but would be a worthy acquisition into my shelves for an occasional listen.

2.5 / 5

DEAD NEON: "Dead Neon"

Now here’s something I don’t come across very often: post-apocalyptic sludgy doom with monumental distortion, packed into a compact whole that runs for less than 30 minutes. The eponymous debut of Dead Neon is a sweet little treat of innovative music that in all its simplicity makes a truly positive impression on yours truly, to the extent that I am actually reviewing a release of this kind - I usually just skip through the sludgy albums because I’m not really acquainted with the style.

Dead Neon sounds huge and rough as if the album was recorded live on one take: the transitions between songs are seamless, the same feedbacks usually connecting the neighbour tracks. After the introduction’s - "Advisory (Go to the Boneyard!)" - speech fades out, the massive guitar walls burst on ”Downwinder” and the mid-tempo rumble begins, drums and bass grooving steadily while Jarrett proclaims his evocative (and definitely worth reading) lyrics in sinister, maniacal voice.

Song-wise, Dead Neon retains the same style throughout: there’s not much difference between many of the tracks, but it doesn’t really matter as the basic principles are of high quality and the overall length isn’t prolonged. From the core, what basically is to be expected is heavy and evil sludge / doom riffage all the way until ”Ride the Light” which ends the story of Dead Neon in clean guitars and singing.

If you’re up for some lyrically adventurous yet musically ultimately repetive and simple sludge or doom, and a really dirty production isn’t a hindrance, Dead Neon is a worthwile record to look into - and it doesn’t necessarily cost even a cent as it’s offered as a free download besides the proper tape version. I’m useless naming any references here but if there’s more this kind of music somewhere, anyone can feel free to guide me.

3.5 / 5

ARFSYND: "Arfsynd"

Released almost a year ago, I didn’t come across Arfsynd’s eponymoys debut album until recently - and luckily I did. Perditor’s (better known from Orcivus) another project offers riff-driven underground black metal that shows how to create tight evil riffage with some latent melancholy therein.

First of all, it’s the earthy, dry sound that lures me towards the album from time after time. No studio tricks and compressions to be spotted here; semi-lofi soundscape not unlike Vitsaus is what dominates, meaning that all necessary is audible and no extras. This plain sound might scare away some during the course of the six songs, but I would recommend to look properly into these riffs - as in the damn solidly executed intro riffs of ”Vid Syndaflodens Mynning” - that reek of authenticity. While the tempo is mostly kept between middle and slow (which is perfect for this discordant menace, and probably put to its best use on the 10-minute ”Sjalamassans Andalykt”) there are times, such as ”Blodsutgjutelse I Herrans Namn” imply, where the tempo is raised a little to create a nice dynamic range.

Arfsynd might not be laden with originality, but Perditor has most certainly crafted some very fine black metal off simple ingredients - the way I enjoy it most of the time. Do yourself a favor and check this out if you think likewise. The vocal delivery is another thing worth mentioning here as it’s not the most common high-pitched rasp; it is more in the vein of Dødsengel, meaning more emotion-filled moans and snarls of madness.  Hopefully there’s some new material in the pipeline so that Arfsynd won’t be just a one-time project because there’s a load of talent to be found from here.

3.5 / 5

SERPENT NOIR: "Sanguis XI"

Of all the deeply occultistic, magical black metal bands of recent years, this Greek group spews forth one of the most interesting efforts in the field under the moniker Serpent Noir and their debut EP Sanguis XI. It is, however, misleading to label this as mere black metal because there’s a big load of death metal murkiness running through the veins of this twenty minute piece of both sophisticated and savage occult metal.

Even without any previous knowledge of the band, I was able to spot that certain Greek sound in the production, nodding to e.g. Wodulf’s recent debut’s direction, meaning that it’s somewhat loose sounding but still effective, and at least miles away from any sterile sound. After the brief introduction, ”Midnight Consciousness” begins the mid-tempo meandering properly where relatively low-tuned riffs and growls meet with discordant black metal menace and, later on, rapid blast beats. ”Invocation of Sorath” follows then the same path, and also introducing some distant clean chants not unlike Behexen’s My Soul for His Glory.”The Disputers” possesses the most old school sounding death metal riffage, catchy as hell yet not loosing the overall morbid black metal atmosphere at any point.

Next up is the two-part name monster "Ritualis Draconis, Part I: Opening the Eye of Set / Part II: Rising of the Dragonforce" that is pure ritualistic ambient music, sounding like it was naturally executed in an echoing hall. Despite the ambient tag, guitars and percussion are used here as well to great success, so don’t expect any lackluster one-note synth humming. ”The Eleventh Blood” returns to the metal in the very same way as the songs before ”Ritualis Draconis” except that suddenly in the middle of the speedy, chaotic black metal appears a chant-like quiet section of clean guitars, hymns and subtle percussion as in the previous track.

Perhaps due to the somewhat weak production, Sanguis XI wasn’t so luring at first, but repeated spins have made the record a very enjoyable listen that just requires firm attention. Sanguis XI reeks of sinister magic in a truly authentic way - do not ignore the evocative lyrics that come along - so that all in all the EP is most certainly a success. Definitely a recommendable purchase for anyone into ritualistic, truly evil sounding death / black metal. Personally, my expectations for any possible future releases are rather high but I’m sure Serpent Noir won’t disappoint next time either.

4 / 5