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

ABHOR: "Ab Luna Lucenti, Ab Noctua Protecti"

In all honesty, I know very few good black metal bands from Italy. I don't know why that is, as the close-by countries Spain and Portugal seem to offer something of interest almost monthly, and still my knowledge of Italian black metal is basically limited to just seeing Mortuary Drape live a few years ago. Anyhow, Abhor is here clearly to change that fact, and positively so. It didn't take more than just a fast glance at the cover art and so my interest was triggered – it looks fabulous! It reeks of mysteries, magic and all that is occult. Hazy, black and white picture of a cellar with golden frames and a purple logo can not derive from the 21^st century, or so I thought.

The label Moribund Records depicts the album as 'an otherworldly voyage into the mysterious unknown, a twilit sojourn through esoteric realms', and it couldn't be more fitting. They also use the tag 'occult rock' in relation to Ab Luna Lucenti, Ab Noctua Protecti, but I don't think there's any of The Devil's Blood here, not at all. This is mostly mid-paced black metal with vaguely evil and melancholic riffing. The atmosphere is dominated by an overall aura of mystery, and this is mostly accomplished by the keyboards that play a very important role on the album. There are piano melodies everywhere, and they can be multifaceted patterns or just dark, heavy, accented chord hits. If not piano, it is different kind of haunting synth sounds that give each track enough personality. There's nothing to complain about the guitar riffing either that varies just about enough, but it is ultimately the keyboard department that deserves the biggest acknowledgements.

The album embarks on its journey with the acoustic guitars of ”Golden Path” and concludes fourty minutes later with somewhat similar ”Aura Ingis Aqua Tellus”, a mellow track of acoustic strumming and harsh vocals, all this close to Carpathian Forest's best days in early nineties (Journey Through the Cold Moors of Svarttjern, to be exact). Between these pieces, there's a lot of quality material within the spectrum of ghastly, underground black metal with the haunting of Elysian Blaze. It isn't lo-fi, but somehow distant to a great effect. ”Echoes of Desperation and Hate” reaches almost nine minutes but I have never really noticed any stagnation in the album, it has always been a pleasure to listen to from the beginning until the very end.

Ab Luna Lucenti, Ab Noctua Protecti undoubtedly belongs to the highlight albums of the second half of 2011, at least so far. That is quite well done considering that I hadn't heard a word about the band beforehand although their history goes back to the nineties and the back-catalogue features four full-lengths preceding this new one. Definitely a recommendable effort that I might start digging even more as time passes by and I've managed to give it more time and proper (dark) listening settings.


4 / 5

HEIMDALLS WACHT: "Nichtorte - Oder Die Geistreise Des Runenschamanen"

I do not consider Germany to spawn the black metal of highest caliber, and probably never will think so. Thousands of almost identical bands result in a scene of rather unattractive mess. Of course there are exceptions to every rule, and I'd say that Heimdalls Wacht's Nichtorte - Oder Die Geistreise Des Runenschamanen belongs to these relatively rare albums that somehow stand out. The name of the game is pagan black metal that in practice means beautiful, melancholic riffs that are however executed in distorted tremolo pickings on top of blast beats. There's plenty of Burzum style aggression as well and that is good, it's not about the sweets all the time.

It's hard to put into words how exactly Heimdalls Wacht does the job better than many other contenders – I guess it's simply that the band has more skill in composing tracks that don't bore the listener at any time, even though the album clocks at over sixty minutes. Sure, there's nothing really original about the music presented here, as most of the melody lines have probably been used already in various variations throughout the history of folk / pagan influenced black metal. There are also riffs that could have been written by Sargeist (midway into ”Der Wind gibt mir Geleit” for example), they reek so much of the Finnish scene that someone might get dizzy, but I don't mind because they're not there every second to confuse me.

For general enjoyment, I would have reduced Nichtorte's running time. Even if there's mostly quality compositions, it doesn't warrant a perfect listening experience: how many of us can actually listen to an hour of music without any distractions? Atmospheric black metal could be another thing, delving into a lengthy Paysage d'Hiver soundscape when going to sleep or wandering in nature, but in Heimdall Wacht's case, I think it's a tad too much. Anyhow, this is not a serious glitch: one can always enjoy an album in smaller dosages.

Sound-wise, Nichtorte is close to perfect. It is not polished yet the sound is still detailed, upfront. It's harsh yet all instruments are nicely audible. Compositionally, as implied, the album does well too, though I don't think there's any song that would truly rend my heart or something along those lines. ”Ignis Fatuus” belongs to my favourities - do not be too surprised to find some clean singing from this piece, or from the whole album in general! It is done tastefully, fortunately. Nichtorte - Oder Die Geistreise Des Runenschamanen works as a fine example of well done pagan black metal. It is not otherworldly at any time, but it's surprisingly consistent for its lengthy running time.

3.5 / 5

SALIGIA: "Sic Transit Gloria Mundi"

Since early last year, the English based underground label Barghest has been churning out great looking black metal releases, mostly vinyl, and even though there haven't been a plethora of output, it's all been more about the quality – the lineup comprising Luciation and Dødsengel. Now the roster is joined by another northern force named Saligia that is set to release their major debut Sic Transit Gloria Mundi next week.

What Saligia provides here is essentially uncompromising and uncompressed black metal reeking of deepest hells. The sound is indeed quite thin and absent of bass, the driving force being the thrilling, ringing tremolo guitar work. The stripped and natural sound of the production reminds me instantly of Vitsaus' last year Sielunmessu. While the riffs stay in somewhat safe grounds within the Norwegian underground black metal paradigm (a lot of evilness, mysteriousness and very latent melancholy), there's enough fresh hooks in the meandering riffs that are at times almost ingenious. You could think of Armagedda and then you might understand what I mean when I say there's originality in the unoriginality. Musical comparisons are easy to drop to Dødsengel and the similarity is no accident, considering that it's the same person behind the kit. But the familiar elements don't end to the battering: the moans and groans of the vocalist are executed in very similar spirit as well.

The lo-fi, unchanging soundcape absent of dynamics makes Sic Transit Gloria Mundi a challenging listen that simply requires time and heavy rotation so that the dexterous guitar lines show their full potential. Admittedly, there's some material here that seems like a bit of filler, but the stagnation of lackluster material is quite minimal after all. The album is not for all casual black metal listeners out there, but more seasoned ears will realize that we're dealing with a better-than-average black metal album from the current Norway scene.

3.5 / 5

EMBALMED: "Exalt the Imperial Beast"

Remember my review of Prosanctus Inferi's debut? Take the main points of that bunch of paragraphs and you pretty much know what I think of Embalmed's upcoming attack Exalt the Imperial Beast. Those looking for even an inch of compromises in their blend of black and death metal, turn away right now.

Exalt the Imperial Beast is nothing but chaotic, incoherent, violent, fast, murky, grindy, underground black / death metal. You could think of the half-improvised first albums by Krieg but with more death metal therein, and you've got this album. While this style can be used with great results, Embalmed's problem here is the production that simply lacks the punch. It is quite muffled, distast and even silent. So not only the music is hard, if at times impossible, to follow: it is also the production that makes it all more challenging. Thus said, I am in the position of not being able to mention any standout tracks whatsoever, but I guess that in the end it's more about the overall atmosphere than fancy song structure and catchy choruses, after all...

Luckily things are kept brief so that not one track passes the mark of three minutes. Luckily because I'm not sure if I could digest more of the same for any longer. The music (or ”music”) isn't really bad in a harassing way, it's just that there's almost nothing to which I could hold onto. It's all a messy blast after another. This is why Exalt the Imperial Beast is worth looking into if you care more about devilish atmospheres rather than compositional qualities. I know there are fans of this barbaric style out there, so in those people's books this album might deserve a couple of stars more.

I guess it could also be worth mentioning that the band has been going on since 1989. Yes, you heard right despite this is their major debut, in 2011. So at least it explains that the lack of structures professional musicianship is intentional; these guys are veterans here...

2 / 5

RÊX MÜNDI: "IHVH"

Rêx Mündi is an entirely new black metal project to me and here this four-piece offers their debut album IHVH which is set to be released via Debemur Morti Productions, a label that I personally hold in high regard, the day after after tomorrow. It is about time I write a few words about it, as I've had it in rotation for multiple weeks by now, but somehow it's been hard to find the right words to describe it. It is not as if the album was so spellbinding, but perhaps the reason resides somewhere in the album's repetitive nature.

Things start very promisingly with ”J'imagine (Be-Reshit)” that dwells in mid-tempo grounds where heart-wrenching, discordant yet melancholic pluckings ring, the vocalist proclaiming his message with devilish intention. The following ”Naphtali” begins in similar spirit but soon after turns into a mass of blast beats. A lot of tempo and rhythm changes happen, and although IHVH clearly isn't tehnical music, it is still fairly complex in all its 10-minute compositions that corporate quite many riffs. Riffs that, however, are somewhat recycled throughout with minimal changes. Hence the rant about IHVH's repetitiveness, and while it's still pleasurable to listen to through the first tracks, it's getting a tad dulling by the fifth track or so.

If it haven't come clear by now, we're dealing with an orthodox / religious black metal release, so you may expect plenty of mysterinousness and an overall aura of the darkest darkness herein. I have come across more convincing products in the field, but there's still no question of the hard work and all the sweat behind the creation of this well-executed, 50-minute whole. The sucky part about receiving a lot of promos is not having enough time with all the stuff you'd like to analyze much further, and this is also the case with IHVH that probably has more stones unturned that I now realize. Also, seeing the lyrics – an important factor in this style – would have helped the process, but this time I'm coping with audio only. Not a bad record at all, and definitely recommendable for those who haven't got enough of the initial bands of the subgenre.

3 / 5

EREBUS ENTHRONED: "Night's Black Angel"

If we think about the impact of a band like Watain to the world, it comes as no surprise that there's been plenty of followers thereafter, and why not? The aforementioned band's utterly dark and Satanic take on black metal, whilst still retaining a quite accessible touch due to clear production and semi-melodic elements, was and is manna for many. The only problem resided in the copycat bands that followed the footsteps too closely, providing nothing novel whatsoever.

As soon as Erebus Enthroned's debut Night's Black Angel kicks in with ”Enthroning the Harbinger of Death”, I'm a little afraid. Oh oh, here we go again with another identical record combining the sounds of Watain and Marduk. But fortunately I was somewhat wrong and repeated listens have made a surprisingly decent whole to surface. True, almost every nuance of the record reeks of familiar elements, from the ringing, dissonant chords to the mid-level screams and overall song progressions, but I'm still grabbed pretty well by the first track. After that a few weaker links appear, but the kind-of-interlude ”Horns of Severity” bring some fresh air to the game with its ritualistic, melodic patterns. ”Temple of Dispersion” is another that stands out due to being a harrowing ambient piece in between the palm-muted, blasting black metal that at times sounds just too familiar.

Had this album been released ten years ago, it would have reached a legendary state I guess. But now after at least a couple of dozens of similar takes on this branch of contemporary black metal have come out already, Night's Black Angel has a hard time rising from the mass to reach its fans. I personally enjoyed the album a lot more than I often do when it comes to this category (e.g. the recent Sacrilegious Impalement pales in comparison), so hopefully these words are at least a vague contribution to promote Erebus Enthroned's skill over many others in the field.

3 / 5

SANGUIS IMPEREM: "In Glory We March Towards Our Doom"

Hells Headbangers is probably the most sterling of all labels focusing on underground black / death metal, bestial black metal, war metal or what the hell you ever want to call it. All the terms apply to Sanguis Imperem's debut album In Glory We March Towards Our Doom as well, a furious monster of blasting rapidity, growling guitar lines and overall top-notch execution. My first encounter with the band happened on the Nocturnal Blood split but I never gave this band's side enough attention as I primarily listened to the split due to the aforementioned band. Nevermind, In Glory We March Towards Our Doom is an attestation of the young band's skill that is surely worth looking into if the characteristic clichés of the subgenre don't matter.

The introductory ”Nil Igitur Est Mors Ad Nos” might give a misleading notion of the album as a whole, as it's definitely the only song on the album that is led by grandiose acoustic guitars, though it is still fittingly belligerent in atmosphere, no question of that. Soon after, ”The Scourge of Men” kicks in the proper, all-crushing metal, this certain piece belonging to the highlights of the album, the hell only to be continued on the subsequent seven tracks. The band does accelerate a lot, but also realizes to include slower parts where the rumbling guitar sound is magic at its best. Overall, the song material does suffer from repetition and a somewhat narrow array of ideas, and this turns out to be the album's only proper weak point.

And that is the very reason why I am not able to rank In Glory We March Towards Our Doom to the highest ratings possible, because it's very much the same we've heard before. But at what it does – a strict style of ass-kicking old school black / death – it does it with authenticity above many other contenders in the (battle) field. I also dig the cover art which is a nice change from the usual, Blasphemy worshipping black & white & red imagery. Fans of the label's usual output can't go wrong with this one.

3.5 / 5

AENAON: "Cendres et Sang"

Aenaon is another rather new addition to code666's roster of avant-garde black metal, and another successful one. Cendres et Sang does not appeal to those solely into anti-modernist, low fidelity cellar black metal, but those who rejoice in compromising and uncommon elements in their black metal (or the other way around: a little bit of black metal in their what ever weirdness you could call this.

To depict the album more specifically, you may still except a fair deal of blast beats, tremolo guitar and harsh screams. Heck, the main riff of ”Psychonautic Odyssey” is a pretty old school, Celtic Frost like one. But the introductory ”Kafkaesque” already reveals that there's more to Aenaon's music than the basic extreme metal instrumention and execution: there's plenty of saxophone around this album which creates a really jazzy feeling at places, plus a myriad of other manipulated sound effects in every corner of the 53-minute whole. The result is, while not always intriguing and extraordinary, an interesting journey through surprising compositions.

The musicianship is no short of quality either, the main compliment going to the drummer's seat. He is a monster here, knowing how to play dynamically: when to go into warm jazzy grooves and when to include the power and roughness of blast beats. No complaints to any other section of the lineup either, it all seems to work well in spite of the fact that this is their debut.

In the end, Cendres et Sang leaves a positive taste. Even in the realm of experimental black metal, I don't think the album is really revoluationary as there's a already a heap of groups doing quite similar music, but I still think the album is a worthy effort. It is easy to hear the sweat and pain that has went into the creation of this many-faced, richly textured piece. Cendres et Sang won't open to its full glory right in the beginning as the challenging and confusing compositions do require more time. I still haven't given the album enough spins I think, but at each go it seems to get a tad better.

3.5 / 5

FYRNASK: "Bluostar"

For a reason I haven't yet fathomed, it seems to be Germany that spawns atmospheric black metal the most. Ambient undertones, repetitive lengthy songs, an incessantly foggy atmosphere – these are all featured on various different records put out every month, and they're all features that are included in Bluostar, Fyrnask's major debut album, as well.

And Fyrnask, or Fyrnd who's behind every instrument and shriek here, does it very well. Often these albums stagnate in poor, unbalanced productions, but Bluostar sounds really good. The sound is very detailed, full and professional, and this is put to its best use on tracks like ”Berger” that start with flourishing synth mats, distant guitars and subtle chanting. The effect is immense, but it does require proper listening settings, aka it is useless to try to get into Bluostar in the middle of all everyday hassle and stress. Forget all those for a minute (or an hour in this case), sit back and delve into the soundscape of this record.

When actual metal tracks hang all around the ten minute mark, the songs do require some variation, and despite the consciously repetitive style, there's plenty of different ideas within every song: both accelerated blast beats and slower and almost doomy sections. I can't say the actual compositions shine with chilling originality (most of the ideas are presented on a myriad of similar albums), so that Bluostar is definitely not revolutionary, but in its own sub category the album stands as an above-average effort. It is mostly thanks to the overall atmosphere that Fyrnd has created very successfully. It's quite easy to just let go and sink yourself into the massive sound walls of Bluostar. Fans of the style better check this one out.

3.5 / 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