RAVENMOON SANCTUARY: “Winter Desolation of Death”

It’s no secret that Poland is clearly among the best countries when it comes to quality black metal today: while Mgła is deservedly conquering the planet with several festival appearances, Dark Fury, Ohtar and Selbstmord related personnel among others keep garnering the praise of a slightly smaller, yet truly devoted audience. New projects seem to be founded all the time, such as Ravenmoon Sanctuary, an appropriately titled band that on their debut album Winter Desolation of Death present dark and atmospheric black metal. Unsurprisingly, it sounds fantastic.

Winter Desolation of Death is absolutely not about racing or technical abilities. The key here is, as clichéd as it sounds, the atmosphere. The band tends to crawl in mid-tempos, playing rather sloppily, focusing on dark and sombre soundscapes. The desperate shrieks would even nod to depressive black metal’s direction, but that is not the deal here at all. Like the artwork and song titles tell, the album is more a journey through wintry forests and graveyards… Ravenmoon sanctuaries? The band name may seem pretentious, but in truth it’s quite fitting.

Much credits for the atmosphere go to the keyboard mastermind GrimSpirit, better known from the synth-heavy Evilfeast, whose work on this album is admittedly admirable. The grand intro “Gravespirits of the Frozen Woods” alone brings the chills, not to even mention how sweetly the keyboards are incorporated to the black metal on latter tracks.

Ravenmoon Sanctuary doesn’t offer anything truly new on their debut, but since when has that been the most significant point? Once again, you may look at the artwork and song titles and decide if you can stomach a rather traditional Polish black metal album without the slightest sight of anything modern. I sure as hell can, as long as it’s done as tastefully as right here.

4 / 5

GALDR: "Ancient Light of the Stars"

What truly enthralled me in Galdr's debut from two years ago was its picturesque, dead-cold atmosphere – talk about a rather perfect evocation of wandering in the mountains in a blizzard – and what is even more amazing is that Draugr, the mastermind behind the band moniker, hails from the soil of Georgia, United States. Ancient Light of the Stars, the follow-up that, if I remember correctly, has been in the making even before the debut was out, sees finally the light of day and provides another audial journey to some very introvert states of mind.

The music itself hasn't changed here: it still follows the steps of slow-paced Burzum on Hvis Lyset Tar Oss, a modern equivalent probably being Forteresse's more recent albums. There's not much variation within these song structures, as a song usually features a repetitive and somewhat distant drumbeat along with seas of not-that-harsh guitar lines and ethereal synths. Draugr's rasps are delivered along very similar lines as Varg's, so that only adds to the similarity. But what sets this album apart from Galdr's debut is ultimately the production: whereas Galdr had that distinctive and, frankly, a rather unique sound (harsh, vicious yet beautiful), Ancient Light of the Stars is relatively speaking a lot calmer and warmer. This is probably deliberate considering the album's title and artwork which nod to the direction of night, stars, and all the possible mysticism one might ascribe to such a generally dark theme. So if the debut was a blast of winter, this is more about nocturnal apparitions in a haunting forest, up in the mountain ranges. These clichéd descriptions never get old for me when we consider atmospheric black metal...

So while the production makes the listening experience somewhat different, it also leads the band towards a less original style. Quite honestly, there are a zillion albums similar to Ancient Light of the Stars and had I not heard the debut before this one, I probably wouldn't regard this as good as I now do. Anyhow, I've had plenty of good time with the music herein and this has been my soundtrack to these dark winter days for some time now. Galdr brings absolutely nothing new to the game of atmospheric black metal dwelling, but does do it better than many others.

3.5 / 5

FORLORN WINDS: "The Day the Wolf Swallowed the Sun"

Cold, vast mountain landscapes. Piercing gusts in the heart of winter. Although nothing explicitly implies it here, I sense a strong nordic spirit in Forlorn Winds' debut album The Day the Wolf Swallowed the Sun, in the kind of way a Hate Forest record like Purity or Sorrow conveys its coldness – and I wouldn't surprise if indeed the aforementioned band was a deliberate influence on this band's sound.

The members behind Forlorn Winds aren't any newcomers into black metal, though. Comprising a doublet of Pantheon and Dark Fury related personnel, one might already guess that this fusion would result in a competent record, and that is very true. The band plays very straightforward, monotonous style of black metal that is dominated by steady drum machine blasts and breezing tremolo riffing. Melodically, the album is not entirely harsh nor mournful: it nicely balances between the two elements, evoking a rather epic yet ominous atmosphere. Fitting mid-range growls complete the package, and in the end I don't have much bad things to say about the album.

The Day the Wolf Swallowed the Sun is smoothly executed underground black metal that on the other hand doesn't provide anything new, but on the other it has pretty much everything a good black metal album needs. No tricks, no surprises. Sometimes during the course of the album it might get even a bit too monotonous, but luckily Forlorn Winds have kept all their songs under four minutes, so these raucous blasts will never tire the listener. Just when the riff patterns would get too familiar, the song ends and a new beast emerges. So if you happen to crave for another Blood of Kingu or Hate Forest record, you might want to give Forlorn Winds a chance.

3.5 / 5

TOTALE VERNICHTUNG: "Feuerbestattung"

Totale Vernichtung's name was vaguely familiar from earlier this year and even after a couple of listens of their brand new album Feuerbestattung I couldn't figure out where I had seen the name; but now I'm pretty sure it's their demo Die pechschwarze Artillerie that I saw being hyped in the spring, but for an unknown reason never checked it out. And now I can say that I'm glad I finally dismissed even the rather general artwork and delved into the music itself because what we've got here is some ingenious underground black metal.

Feuerbestattung is, in spite of some traditional values, an odd bird. There's surely a crunchy production, a drum machine, tremolo-picked riffs and other such features of a regular black metal release, but the guitars are doing something truly weird here. I tend to think these riffs are an equivalent of those Sonic games on Sega: these melodies twirl and twist in such a lively manner and speed that, if separated form the music around it, this would barely be black metal. For more relevant (musical) comparisons, you could think of Eisenwinter but a thousand times more active and catchy, or Peste Noire when it comes to the riffs' overall inventiveness. The clear drum machine, as well as the vocals and the language they're performed in, hint also to Wehrhammer's direction.

Inspirational would be a good word in depicting the essense of Feuerbestattung, and I don't think there's any need to analyse individual tracks, as the scheme remains the same throughout. The actively wandering riffs consisting of very high notes are the key to the album's success in my books. I can't think of any other band playing black metal exactly like this, which is a good sign. Feuerbestattung deserves a worthy recommendation, and although there are some minor issues such as the drums (programmed ones are always at least a tiny nuisance), this album is definitely a refreshing experience.

4 / 5

TODESWEIHE: "The Black Mass"

Without additional clues, it would sometimes be hard to place a raw, uncompromising black metal recording to a certain time slot of history. Todesweihe made that clear on 2011's demo compilation Necronomicon Ex Mortis which was a filthy feast on ideas formed twenty years earlier already. While that CD comprised material from the band's past eight years, you can't really tell any difference in sound if we compare it to this year's material presented on the six-track The Black Mass. 'No evolution whatsoever' seems to have been the band's driving force throughout their journey in the underground, and although it is very acceptable (and enjoyable), there are limits to how much one can stand listening to the riffs that have been basically the same since Darkthrone launched them in the early nineties.

So although the settings for The Black Mass are unfavourable, I was able to listen to it very carefully. This was probably because I've lately had a partial break from listening to basically anything, so keeping a focus on any music at all was easier than it tends to be after scrolling through a million albums a week. But what I essentially found from this EP was very simple, very primitive black metal that is cold, rehearsal sounding, and evil. This isn't exactly crammed with blast beats; Todesweihe here prefers a groovier direction in the vein of those masculine, mid-paced, rusty and partially palm-muted riffs of Clandestine Blaze. This is put to its best use on ”Buried and Forgotten” that during its last section incorporates a screeching lead melody on top of the grumbling war.

Pieces like that do their work admirably, but in the end, The Black Mass is just a rather forgettable snack of underground black metal. Personally there's no way of me hating it, but neither does it leave a lasting impression. Also, when a band releases a short EP, I don't understand why there has to be over two minute intros and outros, eating a lot of the overall playing time. And these are among the reasons why I'd choose some other release over this one, no matter how decent this is in the background.

3 / 5

ZERVM: "Nex Cvltvs"

I remember obtaining Zervm's 2008 demo tape Nihil Morte Certivm from a distro for two euros or so, and how happy was I for getting such a score. Not that it would have been a truly awesome hidden gem from the underground, but in comparison to how cheap it was, I enjoyed spinning it surprisingly often. A little bit deranged, filthy black metal was Zervm's style back then, and it's not much unlike their offerings on the brand new album Nex Cvltvs.

Simply put, Zervm here is somewhat murky power chord firing with ominous twists, i.e. the rather traditional ravaging riffs sometimes diverge into atonal notes. Barbaric drumming backs this up, and on top of all are the leprous snarls of the vocalist, half-spoken, or more like uttered. This is the paradigm under which the band plays through the whole album without any alterations really, but luckily it tastes pretty good: these seven horrid spells are all effective. However, in the big picture, they tend to resemble each other a bit too much. In the course of listening throughout the album, and I've done it maybe six times now, my mind starts wondering off always at some point, and then I need to skip back a few tracks to the moment when my mind departed.

The stripped production and overall style resemble that of Hrizg's latest offerings Anthems to Decrepitude and Inferno, so if those appeal to you, so should Nex Cvltvs. The atmosphere is pretty damn well accomplished here, both suffocating and somehow cavernous, but song-wise I would have liked to hear some more variation, I guess. The basic elements are handled like they should be, meaning that there's nothing wrong with the instrumentation nor sound, but I still find it lacking something that would raise it higher than many others in the field.

3 / 5

NORDWIND: "Wendehorn"

What comes to Canadian black metal, I do revere Pagan Hellfire, and Revenge doesn't suck either even if not being entirely my cup of tea, but generally speaking I can count truly good black metal bands from Canada with one hand's fingers. Hence coming across an act like Nordwind is a great pleasure: two Godless North related persons playing crude black metal without any gimmicks whatsoever.

And while many fail at the delivery of uncompromising black metal, i.e. actually sounding good and interesting with the minimum equipment and means at use, Nordwind seems to belong to the few bands who know how to hit the right spots. Their debut album Wendehorn is downright harshness and coldness from the north, further accomplished by the very deft playing of instruments. There's not much bass in the soundscape; instead, the raw guitars are are in the leading role, firing ferocious riffs one after another. Just listen to the main riff crushing on ”Gazing from the Void” - brilliance! ”Spear of Mastery” shows how tasty lead melodies are done on top of a rumbling rhythm section, and ”Death Asceticism” encapsulates the essence of powerful palm-muting.

Admittedly, Wendehorn might later on start suffering from a lack of longevity as the songs build around rather simple (yet effective) ideas, but a part of the album's charm, as a counter-effect, is indeed its brevity: the album comes, kills, and leaves. Six tracks of merciless action, and then it's done. Nordwind's performance here is commendable, though of course rather predictable as there's nothing majorly unique about them, but I really can't start philosophizing about 'lacks of that and that' while listening to this piece of grabbing fierceness. Wendehorn does what it's supposed to do, and hence deserves a good rating.

4 / 5

PERDITION WINDS: "Perdition Winds"

You may recognize the musicians of Perdition Winds from various death and thrash oriented underground acts such as Lie in Ruins, Neutron Hammer and Desolate Shrine, but in this particular case they've grouped to manifest occult reeking sinister black metal without much links to the above-mentioned genres of 'catchier' nature. This is crawling in moderate tempo, never rushing to any lively riffs nor solos, but just focusing on the efficiently evoked atmosphere of darkness.

After the rather general intro (that the EP could live without, I think, as it eats quite much of the overall length already), ”Purification” starts its ominous riffing which is soon backed up by blast beats and very low-end growls, around the pitch of Hate Forest. The moderately professional production and discordant riffing nods to the direction of many recent religious black metal groups à la Ondskapt, and thus there's not much uniqueness in the riffs. That's not a definite hindrance however, as it still sounds authentic, and I love the way how e.g. this song and ”Corrupted Image of God” flow seamlessly together thanks to a lurking acoustic guitar pattern in between. So where Perdition Winds suffers in its, well, unoriginality, there's plenty of thoughtful ideas here that lure for replay, to discover more what this mysterious creation possesses within. The self-titled ”Perdition Winds” and ”Path Revealed” conclude the journey without much changes in the style of malignant and rather modern black metal, though it is worth mentioning that the latter belongs to the EP's best moments, incorporating some latently melancholic flavours.

The production is what rises to the EP's only proper fault as it lacks the punch of all instrument: they're all somewhat muffled in a distance, creating a rather suffocating tone that, on the other hand, has its own charm, as an intangible evil spirit, but I still believe this would have sounded better with a more punishing sound. All in all, Perdition Winds isn't the most peculiar EP out there right now, but with a line-up of this high quality I'm sure they're able to pull out a great full-length – here's to hoping that such will come, that is.

3.5 / 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

FIDEI DEFENSOR: "Cognoscenti"

After the unsuccessful campaign initiated by the label Supernal Music that was originally going to release the album (with the little ’if’ that the album would have to sell out the whole run of 250 copies in preorders), Darker Than Black Records has taken care of Fidei Defensor’s debut album’s release since the preorder project failed and Supernal Music backed out.

My first thoughts after reading about the album was that it would be a feast on raw, uncompromising black metal occultism, but that is quite far from the truth; despite the overall harshness revolving around the album, Cognoscenti is more prominently beautiful, giving much emphasis to melancholic melody. Considering the first track ”Nvlli Expvgnabilis Hosti” and the beginning of the next one ”Veritas, Satana”, the album sounds like a delicate post-rock affair with all those reverby, fragile guitar pickings. It is not until the first five minutes or so are over when the distortion and metal kicks in, guitars fluctuating between wistful and ominous riffs and melodies, vocals having perhaps an unnecessary amount of effected distortion on them, and drums being programmed, though they sound decent enough.

From there on, throughout the next three last tracks, Cognoscenti continues balancing between quieter moments (”Pallida Mors” even having a nice piano outro) and mid-tempo black metal sections. I don’t think the compositions stand out with absolute uniqueness, but the band does seem to know what they’re doing at creating a strong whole of black metal that nicely varies between calmful and fierce parts. The running time isn’t prolonged either, clocking at 32 minutes, which is another thing for the album’s good. Cognoscenti might not be the most impressive black metal release of the year, but delivers its music convincingly enough to deserve an occasional spin from me.

3 / 5

KRIEGSHETZER: "Panzer Vorwärts"

Pure relentless war is a good way to describe Kriegshetzer’s debut album Panzer Vorwärts, and is there really any need to analyze assaults like these any further? Perhaps a few additional words are in place, but if you already know that you want variation and calmful melodies in your black metal, there’s no reason to continue reading.

The paradigm is simple: a load of fast-paced blast beats, swift and piercing tremolo riffs and masculine screams. The instruments are executed with rather precise touch and timing which makes the music sound fittingly sharp and militant. In addition to the overall belligerent atmosphere, there are also some latent tendencies towards melancholic melody, such as in the main riff of ”Hohe Nacht der klaren Sterne” even if it’s only for a couple of seconds. One of my personal favourites off the album is the adventurous ”Mutspruch” which showcases the band’s ability to create such twirling and damn engaging riffs in insane tempos - not that this particular track is the only one of its kind.

Usually, I’m bored to death when it comes to prolonged albums where hateful riffs are played incessantly without the slightest change of compromise. This is why it comes as a surprise how well Panzer Vorwärts and its not-that-unique Eastern European black metal chord progressions retain my interest throughout, even if I would have still removed a song or two from this 48-minute entity. The production, natural sounding and hence far away from a modern overcompressed turd, is also a partial reason why Panzer Vorwärts is an endurable record. For obvious reasons, this album is not for everyone, but for those who seek for simple violence from their black metal, Panzer Vorwärts is a recommendable album.

3 / 5

TODESWEIHE: "Necronomicon Ex Mortis"

Necronomicon Ex Mortis showcases 13 tracks of Todesweihe’s back catalogue, which means almost 70 minutes of basic German underground black metal with no compromises. Sounds interesting? If not, there’s no reason to continue reading, as I’m sure that this kind of stripped-down simplicity with no innovation whatsoever is a thing you either really like or have no interest in at all.

First up is the demo Nachtmahre dating back to 2004, offering four tracks of hateful black metal with relatively warm production and a short interlude with clean guitars. Drums batter a stable blast beat almost throughout, though ”Mit einem Herzen voller Verachtung” and ”Das Sterben” realize to provide even some slower variation to the game too, the former being a highlight of the demo.

Nachts am alten Friedhow, an EP from 2008, follows next with two songs of which the first, ”Return of the Necromancer”,  differs a little from the other songs on the compilation, as the drums are programmed and the whole sound is overall clumsier, but it’s actually charming and somewhat refreshing because of its difference in comparison to the other songs. "Das Schloss", taken from the 2010 seven inch split with Leichengott is another highlight of the CD with its most ingenious riffs of the whole bunch.

As Flittermice as Satans Spys, a Darkthrone cover - surprise surprise - is done well but has little worth. Yeah, I’m not the biggest lover of covers even in general, especially when it comes to Darkthrone, Burzum &co covers that have been done a million times in the past. Four live tracks end the compilation, the sound being really harsh, definitely not for audiophiles. There’s still some charm in these raw pieces - that are most likely recorded from the audience - as the high-pitched raspy screams sometimes overwhelm the whole picture with their tortured sound.

For lovers of the German underground, Necronomicon Ex Mortis is a logical release to buy to get to hear most of Todesweihe’s previous output; for a general black metal listener that might want to hear even something refreshing, better avoid this. I’m leaning toward a decent rating: while the band certainly knows what they’re doing, truly sweet moments are too infrequent here to really arouse my interest to listen to this again and again.

2.5 / 5

GALDR: "Galdr"

Production-wise, truly successful and unique albums are hard to come by, but heck how impressed I am of Galdr’s eponymous debut offering. As soon as the introduction ”Winter and Life” ends and ”Futhark” kicks in the black metal, I can’t stop smiling throughout the next thirty minutes.

The key here is the hazy analogue production as cold as a blizzard, fitting into the wintry, mysterious and fairly melancholic black metal perfectly. Everything sounds distant and hence very evocative, reminding me of Orrery’s only album. Compositions follow the roots of dark, mid-paced Burzum, including the screams and various synths that appear every now and then, but not without Galdr’s own touch.  Almost without exceptions, the tremolo-picked riffs are simply fantastic, enduring the repetition that they are given in these brooding atmospheric songs.

Without going into unnecessary details like ’that and that riff is amazing’, I can assure that Galdr is a great piece of atmospheric black metal, one of this year’s highlighs so far. It’s not for those who enjoy their black metal well-produced and downright aggressive; this album seems - according to me - rely heavily on frustration and sadness, yet not sounding like a depressive black metal album at all. Wholly recommended for those who enjoy their black metal in the Hvis lyset tar oss way.

4 / 5