BLAZE OF PERDITION: "The Hierophant"

On matter of last year's Blaze of Perdition EP, The Burning Will of Expansion, I criticized the band for staying in too familiar and safe waters of Watain esque religious black metal, and now that I have given their sophomore full-length, The Hierophant, more than just a couple of spins, it becomes evident that my previous comments about Blaze of Perdition's unremarkableness apply to this record as well.

I guess that things are a bit better from an overall perspective this time around, but not much has changed. The band still revels in a very traditional orthodox black metal sound initiated by such names as Dissection, Watain and mid-era Deathspell Omega to some extent. The first few tracks, ”The Hierophant” and ”Back to the Womb” are quite tiresome feasts on fast tempos and evil dissonance that never rises over mediocrity, followed by the full-band interlude ”Let There Be Darkness” which is a tad more interesting approach compositionally as it runs for less than a minute and a half. ”Gospel of the Serpent's Kin” is the only proper highlight here with its sweet lead melodies in the latter half of the track, concluding in an acoustic arrangement of the same melody. The rest of the album, still four tracks to go, returns to the way too familiar paradigm of pedestrian orthodox black metal, the kind of stuff every other new black metal group seems to be putting out right now.

There's talent in this band and definitely no shortage of musical skills. The Hierophant is executed tightly and swiftly, and Necromorbus studio assures a firm production. Usually I tend to loathe what comes out of that studio, but this time the sound hasn't been overly polished; it's just about enough harsh and sharp yet far from low fidelity. The Hierophant is an enough pleasurable listen that, however, says pretty much nothing on the first rounds, but at least some of the riffs get better in time. There's too much predictableness in the music that hinders it from rising to better ratings, so that's quite a major glitch I hope the band will be working on on future recordings – unless they deliberately want to keep things at where they are. I personally see no point in that as right now the band is hard to discern from other similar acts – which in number are many. Please do give it a go if you're still up for another dive into regular religious black metal and do not expect heaps of innovation.

3 / 5

TYRANT WRATH: "Torture Deathcult"

There's an inextricable link between Norway and black metal, but what's the state of the country's supply right now? I can name a few great names from the Fossbrenna cult, but other than that the scene seems to be crammed with myriads of semi-technical, professional, soulless acts that try to evoke the spirit of the old without success. Tyrant Wrath's debut Torture Deathcult is another addition to the list of new names playing rather precise and well produced black metal, and it is only up to the listener's preferences if Torture Deathcult is at all what he seeks from his black metal.

Unfortunately, I'm leaning towards a category named 'I really see no point in overthought and well played black metal, I prefer it rough with authentic spirit'. I can see the buckets of sweat that have filled up during the creation of this wild record full of different riffs and tempo changes, but that does not equal music that would move me. Tyrant Wrath's take on black metal has elements of crunchy death metal which works nicely in the tight, crystal clear production. Evil riffs is the name of the game, meaning a lot of palm mute along with minor discordance and some rare flirt with melancholy. Vocals are delivered in a rather familiar black metal spirit, nothing bad nor necessarily good to say about them.

To sum it up, Torture Deathcult is your general modern deathened black metal album made by (seemingly) professional musicians. Great musicianship and none of the compositions suck (I actually even quite dig the acoustic outro of ”Revelation of Life”), but that is not enough, because the album leaves no taste afterwards. 45 minutes pass quite fast while this album is in the background and I can't say I found myself very often raising my attention to the music, even if I tried. Not bad at all, but can't spot many, if any, places that would make it great either.

2.5 / 5

ASTROFAES: "Dying Emotions Domain"

As soon as I had heard Drudkh's first few albums back in 2006, I've been a sucker for anything related to these mysterious Ukrainian figures, and so I've tracked down a lot of Hate Forest and Astrofaes records since then. While some Astrofaes albums, most prominently Ancestors' Shadow and Heritage, stand very close to the same melancholic yet epic spirit as the personally revered Autumn Aurora, things sounded a little different on Dying Emotions Domain, their debut album from 1998 that now sees another well-deserved reissue via Negative Existence.

That said, don't expect autumnal, wistful acoustic chords here; Dying Emotions Domain is really fucking harsh and loud black metal. The wall of sound is a massive blast to unprepared ears. ”The Black Woods Theory” is a brief synth intro, setting a natural yet thrilling atmosphere (that, interestingly enough, has the same sample behind as Drudkh's ”False Dawn” in its beginning), but it is shortly after followed by the blast beats and relentless guitar walls of ”Fiery Mysticism”. The sound isn't utterly lo-fi, however, so everything is enough audible – including the keyboards that have a prominent role here as well. They play along the crude black metal pretty nicely, so I am not harassed by the keyboards at all unlike many other people I've heard of. Usually they follow the violent chord progressions, but sometimes they're given the role of an epic climax, as in ”At Nightfall”.

Dying Emotions Domain is surprisingly diverse and endurable for multiple listens. The album might take its time to open, but it eventually rewards. Considering the album's release year and place (Ukraine), it's almost a shame how little this album has garnered attention, because it is clearly above the average along with bands like Nokturnal Mortum (speaking of which, see the similar folk influences on ”Path to Burning Space”). I'm not saying that we're dealing with an essential piece of black metal here, but a really recommended album from two decades past, that's for sure. There's plenty of interesting stuff to find from Dying Emotions Domain and it should satisfy the listeners of the Eastern European black metal scene. Just skip the unreadable English lyrics (unless you're in for some giggles) and you'll do just fine.

3.5 / 5

CHARNEL WINDS: "Der Teufelsbund"

In many ways, Charnel Winds could be said to be the culmination of certain bands hailing mostly from Jyväskylä, an area that seems to spawn hell of a lot of quality when it comes to utterly dark, esoteric black metal. We've got Arvet, Verge, Blood Red Fog, Cosmic Church, Saturnian Mist and a ton more and all these are related, and not only by sharing members, but more importantly they are connected by similar occult approaches. This means that Satan worshipping isn't just a gimmick here unlike the case is with a plethora of other bands, no, this is authentic reverence of the Devil and scorn of all mundane.

But what exactly makes Charnel Winds stand above even its brother bands? A pretty short answer would be that their debut album Der Teufelsbund has been in the works for many, many, years, it has been perfected for a long time (and for curious readers, the process of the album's creation has involved e.g. one death and several visits to mental hospitals), and a few years ago the album's demo version was already hyped, people saying that this would become a definite milestone in Finnish black metal. So when Werewolf Records finally unleashed this painfully delivered monster, the expectations were undoubtedly high.

And due to these expectations it might be why I don't think that Der Teufelsbund is exactly THAT revolutionary, though we're still clearly dealing with a record that is more convincing than 99 out of 100 new black metal albums. Actually, the term black metal might not be enough here as the album's diversity will show later on. Starting with the epic, ringing melodies of ”The Spear and the Crocodile”, a more than apt grand opening for the album, the listener is slowly introduced into the albums sinister atmosphere. Rhythm guitars rumble steadily while a discordant, tremolo-picked melody plays with Wyrmfang's impressive rasps. I'm somewhat reminded of Mgla actually, and as I've said before, I consider Wyrmfang to be among the best vocalists ever, so he definitely fits here. ”Das Leiden” crawls at first like a track from Verge's latest until it explodes into magnificent choral vocals. At the latter half, the discordance is taken a level higher, resulting in a really tasteful riff totally out of hands.

”Chained Kûmara” might surprise the listener a bit, beginning with acoustic, mysterious Eastern melodies. The singing is this time totally clean, a strong voice proclaiming its message. The next two pieces, ”Assembly” and ”Shadow” are a tad more regular black metal pieces, but of high quality anyways - ”Purification of the Sacred Black Heart” includes once again clean vocals and the album's first properly (yet only momentarily) melancholic guitarwork, and I think it's one of the most beautiful moments I've heard in music in a while. ”Die Extase” kicks in with a nightmarish atmosphere with a prominent bass guitar line, later once again including clean vocals, lyrics this time for Johannes Nefastos' pen.

It seems quite unnecessary to write long paragraphs detailing different parts of every track, so those two above shall suffice, most likely giving you enough hint of the album's overall sound. What I personally find more important is the lyrical side of the album which isn't anything easy this time. Musically, I don't think Der Teufelsbund is really challenging if you're willing to accept the untraditional elements in their black metal, but lyrically I've had a lot of headaches over the texts, and I still don't think I've understood a lot, if basically anything... But as far as I'm aware, it doesn't have a strict theme even according to its creators. What comes to the overall theme, I'm definitely seeing the influence of the Hindy deity Kumara here everywhere, or more precisely his weapon, the divine javelin Vel. I'm going to quite a few bits from a certain Saiva guru I came across while doing a little research:

”Its blade is wide, long and keen, just as our knowledge must be broad, deep and penetrating … the holy vel is our release from ignorance into knowledge … When we perform penance and beseech His blessing, this merciful God hurls His vel into the astral plane, piercing discordant sounds, colors and shapes, removing the mind's darkness. He is the King of kings, the power in their scepters.”

In Der Teufelsbund's booklet, there's many pictures of this spear piercing the principle of Satan (e.g. snake), which has made me wondering why so. Isn't Satan supposed to be more highly revered here, not as a lie that should be pierced? The only proper reason I can come up with is that is symbolises the overcoming of Satan's tribulations, the process of realizing the necessity of the hardships given by Satan. From that perspective, the Devil has a more important role than what I initially thought.

As the album is divided into seven tracks, that already rings some bells of alchemical, theological, planetary and whatnot correspondences. I can't say I'm enough familiar with the texts that I could come up with any perfect theories, but some wild guesses I can always throw: ”The Spear and the Crocodile” I see as the process of fermentation, as the evolution of life to produce higher consciousness, mystical awareness. And on ”Das Leiden” I can see dissolution, the cleansing of inferior shapes of the earth. The ending track ”Die Extase” could refer to coagulation with its correspondences with the Sun and gold. With these little thoughts I could be terribly wrong about everything, as there's still a lot to digest from the lyrics. But I can not hold on to writing about a reviewable album for eternity, so...

Der Teufelsbund has been a headache, but a very welcome one, shaking the spiritual me a little more awake, if nothing more. But such philosophical ponderings are not required if you are just to check out well-done, interesting black metal. Sound-wise, the album is honey to the ears: it's not lo-fi at all, but professional and full – it should also please those who generally dislike scruffy productions. Needless to say, strong recommendations to this album from yours truly. Thoughtful compositions, good production, challenging lyrics, great artwork. You don't see albums like Der Teufelsbund everyday.

4.5 / 5

HERESIARCH: "Hammer of Intransigence"

Heresiarch's debut EP Hammer of Intransigence is an example of a record that simply has so devastatingly good looking cover art that you are bound to check out properly what's inside. And in this case the exploration didn't have only positive results, though it is of course certain that these five tracks plus intro are one of the cruelest pieces of black / death metal the Earth has witnessed in 2011.

A little research reveals that half of the band's line-up consists of Diocletian members, so the professionality of the musicianship doesn't surprise so much anymore: Hammer of Intransigence is crammed with a fuck load of insanely fast and precise (yet not triggered) blast beats, and... Well, the drums – snare in particular – dominate the soundscape so heavily that the only thing I can properly remember of the EP afterwards is the monstrous drum work. Hence multiple listens are required, but it doesn't take away the fact that this record is mixed in the same spirit as Proclamation albums are: much focus has been given to the pummelling rhythm section to the detriment of actual riffs, which are a level quieter in the mix. At slower parts the murky riffing does get more distinct, but there's not much slowness on this record in the first place... My favourite track ends up being the last one ”Intransigent” that has the first and last flirts with some kind of melody. Though it's just something really vague, it already creates great dynamics.

So if you're looking for an absurd (that is not said negatively) trip at some very harsh, violent and crude black / death / war metal, and don't really mind if the compositions themselves say nothing, Hammer of Intransigence is a great buy. The atmosphere here is definitely top notch, and sound-wise there's really nothing to complain about: this is a really effective mass of destruction. What I'm lacking here, however, are the memorable riffs. I know that's not a necessity for everyone, and with some bands like Proclamation that applies to me as well, but I find it hard to give Hammer of Intransigence a praising rating just due to the overall feel they have going on in their music.

2.5 / 5

DROWNING THE LIGHT: "Oceans of Eternity"

It is easy to notice how much Drowning the Light has developed throughout the last few years. Lately I've been listening to their (or back then, his) 2007 albums, those scruffy sounds and cheap drum machines of e.g. A World Long Dead and To the End of Time, and when compared to such late efforts as their brand new Oceans of Eternity, the difference in quality is tangible. While the embryonic material has its own charm, the 2011 version of the band is heaps better when it comes to the compositions.

The sound is, however, still really lo-fi, the guitars and steady blast beats like a distant waterfall, so Drowning the Light hasn't really done any compromises; in fact, the production is more lo-fi than on An Alignment of Dead Stars. Oceans of Eternity continues in the vein of the latest full-lengths, this particular style in which they embarked on on The Blood of the Ancients two years back: largely melancholic and epic, at times almost melodramatic, underground black metal that momentarily gets into harsher, menacing sections. On this newest effort, things start familiarly with ”As the Shadows at Dusk Reach Our Enemies Throat” and its tremolo laden epic guitars as well as choral synths. The following title-track includes the first properly aggressive riffs but only for a while, and then ”The Cataclysmic Cycle of Renewal” and ”Oppression & Tyranny” get the mood back to the melodic, familiar soundscape. The latter is a particularly depressive and rather slow-paced piece.

Just when things could easily turn into dullness due to the repetitive nature of the songs, ”The Key Still Not Found” brings something new to the table. It is comparably a more haunting piece, and especially so when the ending part kicks in with its Atra and Ill Omen esque graveyard atmospheres: rotting, ghastly black metal! This highlight of the album does not lose at all to ”The Lunatic Tide” that also incorporates a tad deviant riffing from the usual Drowning the Light scheme. ”Drifting Away in a Sea of Sorrow (Part II)”, a peaceful interlude pays homage to its first part from An Alignment of Dead Stars and serves as a welcome breathing moment until the last black metal pieces of the album, ”The Poison Kiss” and ”The Runes Are Thrown & the Bones Are Spread (A Hymn to the Apocalypse)” start, these two ending the album in similar compositional style as the journey began: climatic choral synths atop the ringing, beautiful melodies and Azgorh's trademark rasps.

In all aspects, Oceans of Eternity is your very traditional Drowning the Light album, but heck, I can not deny the power of these riffs this time. There's been plenty of fillers on previous efforts, but this album seems like a really concise whole of thoughtfully chosen material. I find the album to be quite a perfect example of well-done underground black metal, a fist to those faces who claim that black metal requires something essentially new and refreshing to be good.

4 / 5

GASMASK VIOLENCE / VUOHI: "Hatred United"

On this brief yet fast-paced split CD named Hatred United, that almost literally runs for just 15 minutes, Gasmask Violence and Vuohi meet and provide a few songs of tongue-in-cheek metal & rock attitude.

Gasmask Violence hasn't released anything else before, so this is their first appearance, and I'm not sure do they make a positive impression on yours truly. Their music revolves around simple dirty Motörhead esque rock with punk influences (a lot of d-beats), no more, no less. The songs barely reach the two minute mark and are over sooner than you realize, but then again, I guess it's only a good thing that this kind of music is kept at short bursts instead of a prolonged full-length. The sound and overall attitude are all spot on, but it's then a different thing what I personally think of this kind of music in general. I can not help but think of some young comrades drinking beer in their rehearsal basement and recording a few far-from-profound songs that, at the time of their playing and recording under slight influence, sound so ass kicking. But in truth there's next to zero innovation here, and while there's not necessarily anything wrong with that, I don't see any reason why I'd pick up a Gasmask Violence record when I could just go to a local bar anytime and see some youngsters doing the same thing. ”Heavy Metal Is Dangerous” is kind of the last nail into the coffin right in the beginning when that spoken 'this is Harley Davidson' intro appears.

Vuohi is a more familiar band as it hasn't been a long time when I reviewed their previous demo The Rising Era of Goat, a decent piece of raging black / death / grind mixture. Things start rather promisingly with ”Retaliation” that combines the melancholic tremolo work of black metal with raw and furious grindcore. But after this, Vuohi's material changes to somewhat similar spirit with Gasmask Violence. In practice it doesn't mean any punk or rock, but what it does mean is three cover songs of half-serious originals, like the every teenager's favourite ”Vitutuksen Multihuipennus” by Impaled Nazarene which I happen to loathe. All this, plus my general negative attitude towards cover songs, makes a rather unenjoyable whole, save the first song.

Needless to say at this point, Hatred United wasn't really my thing. Gasmask Violence's take was very basic metallic rocking punk or something along those lines, and Vuohi unfortunately resorts to cover songs except for that one original song which is the split's highlight. Those looking for less-serious metal may find Hatred United more convincing, but I guess I'm just a too boring person for this.

2 / 5

DOOMDOGS: "Unleash the Truth"

Grooving stoner metal meets old school doom metal: this seems to be a common formula on Doomentia Records' roster lately, and Doomdogs' second full-length Unleash the Truth is no exception, unfortunately. Now why the hell is that unfortunate, one could ask, as the quality has remained at a quite high level so far. It's simple: There's been plenty of similar (identical?) material out there already, which is still reasonable, but when the album runs for over seventy minutes, it is way too much.

Whereas I greatly enjoyed Earthride's Something Wicked and Wolfhead's self-titled effort, Unleash the Truth doesn't quite convince me in the same way. Sound-wise, they've got it all here, a dirty low-end guitar sound reminiscent of a bass guitar, it sounds very good. There's a lot of fittingly muddy groove in the instrumentation, especially the drummer does an excellent job here. The vocals, however, are one of the things I'm not much into, but it's definitely a matter of personal opinion. To me, this kind of slightly-tongue-in-cheek clean delivery doesn't really work, unless it's Mastodon doing it.

The vocals aren't the end of everything, so that I'm still able to enjoy the songs, but the ultimate glitch of the album is indeed its length. The songs are relatively long, mostly around five and six minutes, and I find it a bit too long average as the songs are build upon just a few riffs. This is why it's not an easy task to sit through thirteen of this kind of songs in one listening session. Hence my favourite pieces on the album are the most deviant tracks: ”Legacy” is a sweet instrumental made of both acoustic and distortionless electric guitar chords and a flute. ”Magic of the Black Circle” is another strong one, a nocturnal and lurking piece of mesmerizing atmosphere. I also dig ”Mind Slayer” which almost borders on being proggy.

Thanks to the certain highlights, Unleash the Truth deserves a positive rating. Were the songs removed and compensated with another slew of basic stoner doom, I'd probably be bored to death, but luckily that is not the case here. Those reading this review must also remember that I'm not an expert in this genre at all, so true fanatics of the subgenre might find a lot more to enjoy from the album (whilst laughing at my inexperienced comments about it). Unleash the Truth has its moments, but next time around I'd prefer a little more concise and an abridged whole.

3 / 5

THRALL: "Vermin to the Earth"

Tasmanian black metal rings immediately a certain bell, that bell being nobody else than the infamous Striborg, but that part of the world seems to offer something else as well, and of that Thrall takes care of on their second full-length titled Vermin to the Earth, a seven track feast on evil intentions. The deal is pretty simple: Thrall fluctuates between rocking black metal - where power chords meet the drums that partially almost groove - and a bit more modern, dissonant black metal.

The further one explores the sinister tunnels of Vermin to the Earth, the more it becomes evident that the main focus is on the latter: meaning a lot of menacing discord manifested through mid-tempo plucking. The strings ring with ultimate darkness while the drums steadily blast a tad quieter. The vocalist is a poison spewing snake with his high-end rasps that convince. All seems good from the very first seconds into the eponymous first track and its impressive rhythmic pattern. Speaking of which, the band rules when it comes to overall musicianship. Individual songs don't really raise their heads and the band would probably need somewhat more surprising compositions to impress (as this style of black metal is so damn quotidian at the moment), but Vermin to the Earth is, nonetheless, an enjoyable experience that just happens to lack proper standout moments. ”Plague of Man” tends to be my favourite of the bunch with its foreboding, apocalyptic and desperate tremolo leads, but other than that I can't name proper highlights. The production deserves a mention: it is not lo-fi yet not crystal clear. It's just about enough dirty and fits the songs very well.

All in all, I find Vermin to the Earth a good package that is just in a need of more unique elements to make a truly great impression. Fans of underground black metal in general can't go hundred percent wrong with the newest Thrall, but how much the album actually grabs the listener, making him/her want to listen to it again and again? I can't imagine very many but, then again, I could be terribly wrong. In the abundance of all promo material that just keeps coming in daily, it is not easy to differentiate from the mass, so from this perspective my opinion might be biased.

3 / 5

FORTERESSE: "Crépuscule d'Octobre"

Although I can't say I'm fully acquainted with the band's back catalogue yet due to the painful fact that time is limited and there is always so much other stuff to explore in the realms of underground black metal, I do consider Forteresse as one of the most intriguing black metal groups hailing from Canada. Pagan Hellfire might be my favourite churner of the uncompromising Canadian black arts, but Forteresse is perhaps a serious contender for that title as their sound has interestingly ranged from a harsher approach (Métal Noir Québécois) to an entirely atmospheric affair on last year's Par Hauts Bois et Vastes Plaines which was like an utter ambient record, only played with black metal instrumentation.

So into which category should their newest offering, Crépuscule d'Octobre, be pigeonholed? Admittedly, I've only heard bits and pieces of their pre-Par Hauts material, but I'd still definitely say that this upcoming effort is a tad more traditional black metal compared to the minimalist last year's album. Don't get me wrong, Forteresse still revels in a lush atmosphere of echoing, vast sounds, and a song like ”Mon Esprit Rôde Toujours” could almost fit into Par Hauts' soundscape, but the truth is that overall the album incorporates a lot more blast beats and general aggressiveness in relation to its predecessor. And though the sound is hence slightly different, I still find my mind wandering into barren landscapes, forgetting my surroundings and just sinking into the sound, just like with Par Hauts. Mission accomplished, Forteresse's atmosphere here is top notch.

I'm not sure exactly how much longevity these reverby, simple tremolo picked lead melodies have in the long run, but at least at the moment I'm greatly satisfied. Beneath the overbearing, high-end guitar notes is a steady rhythm guitar line that backs up the main melodies, and the album wouldn't be the same without it even if it's so quiet compared to any other instrument. Drums have a very natural sound to them, effeciently creating a natural feeling, especially the breathing snare drums. The vocals are your general black metal rasps which fit in like a glove, and I have nothing to complain about – not about the vocals, not about the whole album, really. Crépuscule d'Octobre might not be mindblowing but still a really successful journey in authentic black metal that should appeal to other fanatics of rather simple yet atmospheric black metal as well. Plus, just take a look at the front cover! It's brilliant, going hand in hand with the previous album's natural theme.

4 / 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

IC REX: "Vedenjakaja"

Ever since my teenage years when I got hold of IC Rex's debut Sielun Kadotuksen Sinfonia and a longsleeve shirt of the album's theme, and spent cold winter nights listening to the album mesmerized (what a perfect, nostalgic black metal memory right there), I've been hooked to the band. In 2008, the one-man project returned with a full line-up on Valonkantajan Alkemia which was another near-perfect record and, in my opinion, a milestone in Finnish black metal. The third album then, Vedenjakaja, came out surprisingly fast after the previous, and I wasn't sure was I ready for it yet. Considered to be the project's probably weakest offering, Vedenjakaja took its time to open and although I nowadays think it's a great album, it is still easy to see what things went wrong here. Temple of Torturous is about to unleash this rather hidden gem as a glorious double vinyl package, and what could be more fitting as now we get to see Cinata's self-made, colourful and occult painting on the cover more properly.

Onto the music, it is easy to spot the differences in sound when compared to the 2008 album: as a drummer, I couldn't help noticing at the very first second after the synth prologue that the drum machine is back form the debut, playing very similar massive tom fills and simple beats, but the sound isn't just as harsh, upfront and distorted. Indeed, Vedenjakaja is a rather clean affair sound-wise, though this is still far from anything polished and modern. Musically, things haven't changed much, as Cinata's trademark routine at guitars is still intact: he loves to play a lot of piercingly cold lead melodies on top of the rhythm guitars, and there's also the symphonic quality of IC Rex, meaning a lot beautiful synths. But, at least for me, probably the most important aspect is the lyrical side which is once again handled so damn perfectly that still to this date, a couple of years after its initial release, there is a lot to discover from Cinata's very symbolic language. Ignoring the lyrics, one misses a lot of the album, I dare to say.

Whereas the production kind of lacks the absolute fierciness of the debut and the natural sound of a full lineup as on Valonkantajan Alkemia, there is also something to complain about the songs as well. Tracks like ”Valolanka” and ”Mestarin Ääni” tend to pale in comparison to any other track from the band's back catalogue, but luckily there are a few diamonds here that compensate it fully, like the massive epos ”Näky Hävityksestä” or the heart-rending, wistful ”Hautajaiskulkue”. Both tracks include Cinata's clean vocal performance which has grown better album after album. Track-wise, it is the bonus material that I'm the most interested about now since the original songs I know by heart already, and the vinyl version happens to provide two previously unreleased lengthy pieces, ”Kaukomieli” and ”Punaisen Tulen Vihityt”. They are compositionally as well as production-wise very similar pieces in regard to the full-length and are definitely worth a listen for any IC Rex fanatic like me. I can't say much about these songs yet as IC Rex's material tends always to open up slowly, and I need to keep some pace in my review schedule...

As there has been no new material since this album's initial release, Vedenjakaja vinyl is a worthy purchase for those looking for more material from the band. Also, the music is high above your average black metal, which is more than a good reason to unleash it on the 'grandiose' audio format with large size cover art.

4 / 5

ATRA: "Up-turning the Curse"

It hasn't been that many months since Atra's previous release, namely the second full-length In Reverence of Decay, came out and here this seemingly prolific dark entity already offers brand new material in the length of an EP. Consisting of six songs, of which two are droning bookends, Up-turning the Curse does not surprise a listener who is familiar with his back catalogue, and so the question is more about are you up for another trip through harrowing graveyards in pitch black, lurking darkness, or have you had your share of the style by now.

The first piece of the EP, ”Invocation of the Departed”, revels in setting the deadly ambiance, followed by ”Wander the Absence” which gets into the low fidelity black metal where the band does not take many compromises. It's ghastly as hell, there's no question of that even if the actual compositions aren't that special. This particular song does contain an old schoolis power chord riff at one point which is a nice change. The eponymoys ”Up-turning the Curse” belongs to the highlights of the EP, it is a ritualistic piece of pummeling tom drums, desperate and haunting screams and, perhaps most importantly, sinister synth mats. ”Harbringer (II)” crawls forth slowly with discordant plucking until it turns into a more straightforward affair of underground black metal. Its ending is probably the most surprising thing in the whole EP as it's one first times when Atra gets into a melancholic, melodic climax close to Drowning the Light's recent output. ”Graveless Apparitions” involves some wild guitar work but doesn't stand out as much as some other pieces here, and ”Possession” closes the experience in a nicely textured ambient atmosphere.

Comparing Up-turning the Curse with Atra's other output is a challenge since the music hasn't branched much off from the style they've been doing since the first demo. What is a definite plus, however, is the shorter running time: now Atra sounds more focused than ever and perhaps it's also a bit easier to digest in smaller dosages than as a full 40-minute monster. A mandatory purchase for the followers of the current Australian scene (Ill Omen, Harvest and a dozen more) and for all others also a nice example of underground black metal where the atmosphere is spot on.

3.5 / 5

MORBUS CHRON: "Sleepers in the Rift"

When death metal and Sweden appear in the same sentence, I'm almost bound to the mindset that it can't be anything else than something related to Entombed or the likes, but Morbus Chron destroys that paradigm right in the beginning with its debut album's cover art that flashes with a thousand of colours. Musically, we might be a tad closer to the phenomenom of Swedish underground revival than the deviant artwork suggest, but Morbus Chron has its own personal traits as well.

These differing features aren't anything crucially exceptional however, because Sleepers in the Rift is still, at its very core, old school Swedish death metal. Sound-wise, the band does incorporate a more spacey guitar sound as well as a more breathing production overall: there's none of that asphyxiating, muddy atmosphere present on the album that dominates almost every other product in the field. Instead of a stifling graveyard production, Morbus Chron concentrates on lively riffs that range from simple, traditional firings to rather melodic affairs. There's nothing wistful about the melodies though, they're all menacing tunes, aptly placed into the raucous music. The vocalist deserves a mention too as he delivers quite a wide spectrum of fittingly unhinged snarls.

All in all, what one should expect of Sleepers in the Rift is a concise package of Swedish death metal crafted of familiar elements but spiced with a couple of atypical ideas. I might prefer the more charasteristic Swedish sound that reeks of rotten corpses, but I also do think that Morbus Chron has done quite a good job here at creating captivating death metal not full of clichés. Worth of checking out, most certainly.

3 / 5  

NILE: "Worship the Animal"

To this date, Nile has puked six full-lengths of their own brand of Egypt themed, cryptic yet epic death metal, and throughout their career they have garnered more and more publicity and why the hell not – even I really like the band, and it is actually one of the only popular death metal bands that I follow. Worship the Animal takes us back to the band's first steps even before the major debut Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka, and shows how different but still same the band sounded almost twenty years ago.

Starting with ”La Chant du Cygre”, things seem really different compared to the Nile of today. There's more thrash metal in the riffs as well as vocals, and the vaguely uncommon time signatures (a joke if you compare to the complexities of nowadays) actually remind me of Meshuggah's early steps in the first half of the 90s. On the follow-up ”Worship the Animal” the band shifts into more familiar Nile sound with an eerie synth choir. However, it's the third track ”Nepenthe” that takes the spot of providing most Nile esque material with its meandering riffs and rhythms, a definite highlight of the compilation EP along with the title track. ”Surrounded by Fright” and ”Mecca” are a tad less impressive lengthy pieces but nonetheless enjoyable documents capturing the evolution of the band.

Considering that this is an old, before unreleased bunch of demo level songs, it comes as a surprise how good the audio sounds, and it's actually a lot more punchy, spacey and detailed than the debut album. The actual compositions might not be essential, but a diehard fan of the group should most certainly invest into Worship the Animal, and not only to complete his/her Nile collection, but also because the content is a lot better than one could have expected from such a rudimentary recording.

3 / 5

GRAVEBORNE: "Pure Negativity"

Finnish black metal has a tendency to revel in very underground spirit when it comes to sound quality and execution of instruments, but recent years have provided a plentiful of bands that are one level higher on technicality, tightness and overall modernity. Graveborne's debut album Pure Negativity is among those albums that, instead of an utterly raw sound and primitive attitude, prefers to keep things rather clean.

Not that there's a lack of aggressiveness: it doesn't take more than the first track ”Metamorphosis” to kick in when you realize that you're in for a swift ride of Dark Funeral and Marduk esque blast beats and tremolo fires. Soon after I'm also sensing a presence of Keep of Kalessin, just a less melodic version of it. The second track ”Nocturnal” belongs to my favourities of the bunch as it includes some subtle melancholy in one of the main riffs, though I'm not yet sure what to think of the track's outro section, that chugging rhythm kind of takes me back to bands like Chimaira...

As easily happens with albums of this style, at least in my opinion, stagnation starts to plague the album the closer you get towards its end. Starting from around the middle of the album, I'm no longer able to differentiate the tracks properly, no matter that I've given them a fair amount of spins before writing a word. Good riffs appear every now and then of course – for example on ”Aokigahara” there's that fantastic, epic one (how much can a band actually sound like Alghazanth?) and I can't deny the power of acoustic guitars on ”Dark Matter” - but there's nothing majorly impressive that would hold my grip firmly on the album.

For a debut effort, Pure Negativity is incredibly played as well as produced, as the whole package reeks of professionalism. Definitely a well done album that just, to my ears, sounds a bit too familiar and safe to evoke any big feelings. Put it in the background and I'll never find the album harassing, but for repeated, focused listenings? Nah, I'd slowly grow tired of it. Bonus points, however, for the lyrics that are certainly worth a read, and cover art that deserves more than just a fast glance.

3 / 5

TEMPLE NIGHTSIDE: "Prophecies of Malevolence"

Ambient and black metal often walk hand in hand, and how could that not be true when we consider something like Temple Nightside's debut EP Prophecies of Malovelence that is so lush in atmosphere that the actual metal instrumentation gets very blurred in the highly ambient soundscape. No, this isn't the kind of beautiful black metal ambient á la ColdWorld or Vinterriket, this is something from the depths of the underworld where all sinister resides.

Lo-fi production, richly atmospheric sound and utter evilness isn't, however, a new thing to many of these late Australian black metal groups that the country has spawned lately, such as Atra and Ill Omen – the latter project being responsible of Temple Nightside as well. The only major difference between those acts and Temple Nightside is that this is a more deathened effort: although I'd say this is still prominently black metal with all the tremolo work and discordant pluckings, the vocal pitch is way lower, resulting in some sort of whispered grunts, plus there's plenty of death metal esque, palm muted riffing within the mix.

But I do not believe that any review of Prophecies of Malevolence should focus solely on the metal because around half of the EP's length comprises the harrowing, droning ambient. It's harsh and distant as the other tracks, and very evocative and malignant. It's rare to come by this well done 'interludes' but these Australians are definitely on the right track when it comes good blackened ambient.

27 minutes pass fast, but in a way it is only good that the EP isn't prolonged. This is just about the right length for a style in which the musical style doesn't much vary and where the echoing, blurry sound might dull the listener after a half an hour. Adorned with a great looking cover art, I find Prophecies of Malevolence a worthy experience. It is not quite extraordinary, as there's not much personality in the actual riffs, but any fan of deep atmosphere in their evil black metal better check this one out.

3.5 / 5

NUNFUCKRITUAL: "In Bondage to the Serpent"

One could have expected something more bestial and swift from a band that is named NunFuckRitual, but that is not exactly the case here. Despite the name that would fit perectly into Hells Headbangers' roster, this kind-of supergroup – involving members from various black metal groups, including a connection to Mayhem – delivers slow, menacing pain that rather needles the listener with ringing discordance than ravages with blast beats.

Indeed, In Bondage to the Serpent is slow, slow to the point of deserving the subtag doom metal. But that mostly fits to the album's general pace, as riff-wise the music is more prominently black metal: repetitive high-pitched tremolo work and sinister, highly distorted plucking. On top of the simple beats and evil melodies reside various whispered and gnarled vocals. The songs always tend to end up around seven and eight minutes, and as the songs aren't that versatile nor progressive, it's ultimately the overall atmosphere that matters.

And in that NunFuckRitual succeeds: In Bondage to the Serpent is auhentically dark and evil. But what comes to individual compositions, I don't think there's that much to remember after the album has ended. A successful aura of menace is what holds the album nicely together and keeps my interest throughout, but I don't see myself returning to it very frequently. There's a couple of noteworthy highlight moments, however, such as the epic, organ like synths on ”Christotokos”.

Looking for a trip in extremely malevolent soundscapes? Then do check out In Bondage to the Serpent which surely serves that purpose. All is done pretty well here but then again, it is 2011 and there's been similar efforts quite a lot every year, and although NunFuckRitual is somewhat above the line of mediocrity, something more is needed to truly rise my attention. And I don't think that applies merely to yours truly.

3 / 5

ATRA: "In Reverence of Decay"

Since the day in 2009 when I discovered that the Drowning the Light guitarist Blackheart had spun off a project of his own, back then named Atra Sacramentum, I've been an active hunter for more material, and luckily he has provided tons of it lately, In Reverence of Decay being already the second album, and there's also a newer EP, Up-turning the Curse, out as well.

Nothing major has been changed from the deadly, cold and ghastly scheme he properly began to explore with last year's debut Death Coven. The deal is low fidelity underground black metal with a very genuine aura of oppression, discordance and latent melancholy. There's a strong focus on general atmosphere which becomes clear at the beginning when the introductory ”Of Mysteries Ancient” sets the creepy mood and then flows seamlessly into sinister chord pluckings of ”Possessed by the Night”. The follow-up ”Majestic Evil” is a tad faster than its predecessor, using blast beats which are quite a rare sight on In Reverence of Decay. It is mostly slow menace what comes to the album's general tempo settings, but the aforementioned track along with the tad more melodic ”The Souls of the Arcane Dance” (which could almost fit onto a Drowning the Light record) are a few exceptions to the rule.

It is evident that Blackheart has never tried to come up with something amazingly inventive with Atra, but what is certain is that he is a master of atmosphere, and while some may disagree, I think he's done better job at that here on In Reverence of Decay than on Death Coven. The ambient bookends flow so flawlessly together into the metal you don't always even notice the change. The overall sound on the album is top-notch, reeking of all that is possibly evil and wrong, and esoteric. The vocal performance deserves a mention too, as the mid-range, resounding rasps, fit perfectly into the album's soundscape. Definitely a recommended purchase, but I still believe that he's able to craft even a better whole, hence the 'moderate' score.

3.5 / 5

ARCHGOAT: "Heavenly Vulva (Christ's Last Rites)"

Five years back, the Finnish underground black metal scene greeted the arrival of Whore of Bethlehem with bold, superlative words, and not without a reason. One of the country's oldest black metal groups were back and the album crushed the hell out of everything. It was nothing new but still utterly dark and ass-kicking fusion of murky death and black metal, similar to e.g. Beherit. A few years later, The Light-Devouring Darkness saw its release and it was about as hellish as its predecessor. Keeping this in mind, it was no surprise that I've waited for Heavenly Vulva (Christ's Last Rites), their new EP, with great anticipation. Now that I've finally confronted this beast, I can't say I'm disappointed at all.

The paradigm in which Archgoat still plays its bestial filth, and has done so for the past twenty years or so, hasn't disappeared anywhere on Heavenly Vulva. A familiar introduction opens up the EP, and then ”Blessed Vulva” gets into the real meat: a lot of blast beat variations pummel amidst low-tuned guitar riffs and the vocalist grunts indecipherable blasphemy, and soon after the tempo drops into slow, atmospheric menace that is crowned with eerie, epic keyboard mats. Similar patterns are explored in the follow-ups ”Goddess of the Abyss of Graves” and ”Penetrator of the Second Temple” of which the latter incorporates some sweet, higher-pitched guitar violence. ”Day of Clouds” belong my favourities of the EP – you just can't go wrong with those judgement bell accents that have appeared on earlier recordings already. ”Passage to Millenial Darkness” is probably the harshest and swiftest piece of the bunch, a fine ending for the record.

In case you're thinking that you've had your share of Archgoatian style already and there's no need for any more of the same, Heavenly Vulva (Christ's Last Rites) might be an unnecessary purchase. But for a fanboy like me, and for those that in general have an interest in uncompromising bestial black / death metal, this EP is golden. It doesn't reach the level of the full-lengths, but is a well done snack of 16 minutes from one of the country's elite groups. Here's to hoping that another full album will soon surface as well.

4 / 5