Shade Empire "Intoxicate O.S" (2006)

 

One step forward and two back, Shade Empire's sophomore effort seemingly faces issues both musical and aesthetic. The strange synth loudness production of Sinthetic highlighted a hidden strength but on this effort it is overwhelmed by grating metallic aggression made harsh by its ear grating production. Its opening track Slitwrist Ecstasy sets off alarm bells as the howling rattle of a loose snare overpowers everything around it. Creeks of spectral keys struggle to glimmer between the rumbling rattle of percussion and the snaky guitar tone that sucks up all space beneath it. The balance is poor, the ears do adjust with familiarity and repetition but the albums biggest strength has been cast to the shadows, a reverse of what came before it. The synths are now all to quiet to have the impact they deserve.

With vocalist Harju wrenching out his meaty shouts and counterpart snarling whispers in the front line, the aggressive context dominates as the drums barrage track after track. Its an unsurprising affair of riff arrangements and drum patterns that pale on their lonesome. In some moments where the pace cools off, one can hear the web of synths woven in too forge a powerful sense of atmosphere and direction for the music. The issue is production, they are simply mixed in poorly and the thick slab of unappealing guitar distortion washes its power away. Its truly disappointing as one can hear the intention but is simply unable to indulge. The only occasions they come to the forefront are with the big cheesy synth tones... everything is out of balance.

Every spin has been an endurance test, how quickly will that unending snare drum take to ware my interest out? Well prior to the albums close Ravine, an entirely synth led composition, gets to shine in the wake of a slowed drum groove and lack of guitars in its opening. Even still its a gem in the rough, one can hear the dirty buzzing baseline in its opening, a reminder of how ugly this aesthetic is. Through that the piano melody and soft synths forge a nightly mystique to show that talent is present, if not held mercy to the bad sound design. Intoxicate is a very forgettable record, one I wont wish to return to, however if handled differently in the studio, my opinion and enjoyment could of been entirely different.

Favorite Track: Ravine

Rating: 4/10

Shade Empire "Sinthetic" (2004)

 

Having recently recorded my blog post on Arcane Omega for my music channel, I was prompted to explore the Finnish bands back catalog and thus landed here at their debut. Initially I writ it off as being a run of the mill record, however with each spin the melodies and symphonic themes rooted themselves, revealing a slice of fantastic songwriting here at the origin of their adventures. Sinthetic is not without flaws but certainly a stronger set of songs that you would initially suspect in their infancy.

As a Symphonic Extreme Metal album, its texture, tone and temperament exudes much of what Dimmu Borgir unleashed with Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia a couple years beforehand. What Shade Empire bring to the table is an Electronic element tangled between its harsh metallic drive and swoons of symphonic might. The best of the record comes from the gleams of melody its orchestral tones usher in over the industrious workings of synth LFO's bustling away around its metallic template. Its design very much of the electronic scene, working its way in with an Industrial vibe.

Its quite the stark construct, the guitars feel distance with a narrow scratchy, plastic tone. The rapid drums rattle their way around with a lot of intensity. The bass guitar and low end is thinned out, the electronic osculations fire off with distance too. Harju's harsh, flat screams are too without depth, adding to this brittle production style. Its the symphonic keys, choral vocals and pianos that swarm the music with a warmness. Dense in tone and presence, they dominate the music on arrival.

These elements essentially carry the record which unfortunately pivots quite often to the drive of Metal techniques and arrangements that tend to have little dazzle. Its at its best when the keys take over, delivering theme, melody and might that swoons and takes off like a rocket. Its a mix of contrasts that works when smothered with synth and in doing so gives it an edge over what you might expect from this musical niche.

That echo's my opening statement, initially I thought it to be a typical record but in hearing the persuasion of Savolainen's arrangements blossom, it reveals a fractional magic. The reality is whenever the music hinges on its metallic footing its a rather dull affair. Its eight songs have their moments and when they do, its always the swirls of electronic synthesizer or orchestral gleam that births its magic. A peculiar record, one that indicates their symphonic genius was there from day one.

Rating: 6/10

Old Sorcery "Sorrowcrown" (2020)

 

Concluding our journey for the time being we arrive at Old Sorcery's third album Sorrowcrown, a lengthy epic wading into Black Metal territory. Its unsurprising given the natural link between it and Dungeon Synth, however in my mind it comes a bold and unexpected move given how such a distinct style had been harnessed. This is no flirting affair but a full on plunge into bleak darkness, adopting many tropes of the genre and its modern flavors. Phantasm is the lone synth song, the shortest at thirteen minutes among three other gargantuan songs. Its opening half consists of brooding strings yearning for warmth, spelling a shadowy caution of unease felt under its majestic gleam. Its suddenly pivots with a minimal delayed synths echoing off the tense atmosphere over a quiet percussive pattern. Giving way to a rich, gleaming flood of suspended pan flutes, the ice thaws in a moment of beauty. True magic before descending into the esoteric unease of monk-like Gregorian chants, distant to the lurching whispers and lonely winds. That later part feeling somewhat stitched on.

Its other three songs are of the Metal persuasion, with only a couple of notable breaks into Dungeon Synth interludes. Leaning to the pale and narrow, its mostly of the Darkspace production style with a lack of high frequencies and clarity in scarcity as its bass, drums and shrill guitars become a muddy momentous force. Over its three songs the unending roar of blast beats and shrill howls finds a few notes of intrigue while mostly being reminiscent of artists who have walked thees paths before. Closer track Blades Of A Reflection manages to conjure a guitar and synth aesthetic almost mistakable for the classic Det Som En Gang Var, something I have strangely not encountered an emulation of before. Voidborn is a track toiling with maddening synths and mischievous melodies to encapsulate a devilish environment. After a meandering interlude it concludes with a beautifully slow and lunging riff playing out under glistening astral synths that swell brighter as the tempo drifts apart.

Fortress Of Molten Silver has perhaps the most interesting opening. A cryptic voice makes shadowy utterances as the guitar fuzz melds with synths. It feels short lived as the arrival of hazy lead guitars pluck sad, lonely melodies through the mud of sound, much like I Shalt Become, which tends to be the nitpick of this record. I don't think Sorrowcrown would have lured me in alone. Much of what it offers are ideas I've heard fleshed out well by other artists before. The chemistry Old Sorcery has didn't seem to apply to this project. Its a lengthy behemoth that slugs through tones of fantastic musical extremities toying with the black and beauty of night. In length it feels more like a meandering journey, fantastical but also a collection of ideas lumped together. With a lack of originality in the mix, its sudden pivots to new shades of intensity feel reminiscent of others. The mixing is also questionable, although low fidelity in nature, its blurry guitars and quiet drums always seem tough to get used to.

Rating: 6/10

Arkhtinn "Astrophobia" (2020)

 

As one of my favorite discoveries from last years music journey, Arkhtinn has returned with another colossal twenty minute ravishing of extreme Black Metal fury from the void. As the first release to have a name of sorts, Astrophobia plays perfectly into their established astral tinged sound. One halve of a split record with Starless Domain, this lone track was a little difficult to love at first, its shear, howling screams an ear-piercing blunt force attack assaulting my mood. With some repetitions and adjustment, the music beneath its tropes and aesthetic harassment are quite brilliant in moments.

The format is as to be expected. Passageways of darkly scene setting build up tension for slabs of thumping rhythmic bass to drive us to expectant plunges into despair as walls collapse with the pummeling of instruments on full throttle. Channeled through its low fidelity aesthetic, one has to adjust attention to pick out the finer crafts of sound between its perpetual blast beats, manic assaults on the fretboard and devilish howls of pure exhilarated despair that penetrate it all with a vile menace.

Maddening whirls of astral synthesizers twinkle through the gaps like stars shimmering in the night sky. Its symphonic component is most exciting as the guitars tend to thrash into a drone of fury. When deploying demonic melodies in syncopated shifts, the music takes form akin to the like of Dimmu Borgir. Another ear catching element, a recurring operatic voice, was slipped in the distant regions of this dense mix. Cropping up inline with the howls and screams, its human intensity distinguished it from the synths with an air of cryptic mystic. Not utilized often but on the rare moments it arises the song found renewed energy.

The monstrous sprawl of a twenty minute song, perpetually plunging us into dizzying depths of extremity has its limits. The broader structure didn't seem to other much more in its duration than the elasticated of easing tensions to simply strike again. Although some elements reoccurred, the lack in differing extremes tends to drone on, most of the compositions making its mark early on. The format is as such but it does feel like room to forge something a little grander. As for the other half of the split I didn't care as much for it, so this blog simply focused on the band I was most interested in. I've never really brought into split releases and the pairing of tracks here doesn't convince me.

Rating: 6/10

Ihsahn "Telemark" (2020)

Norwegian musician Ihsahn is the genius behind one of my all time favorite bands, Emperor. Ive been meaning to follow his solo work more closely and so I lapped up this new release, which turned out to be just three original songs alongside two covers. Not bad considering it was dirt cheap even for digital music standards! It clings closer to a traditional Black Metal atmosphere with thrusts of aggression, blasting drums and snarling screams to forge its darkly mood. Although a return to roots and departure from his more progressive approach, the music finds itself intermingled among subtle saxophones, trumpets and synths that give the Nordic flair a little textural flavor.

Its a chemistry not to remarkable but competent. The opening track brings forth marching chug riffs aligned with the strikes of horns elevating the tensions on a metallic crusade. Nord pivots to a slower pace. Shimmering hazy guitars birth a scenic vision of a cold Ethereal move nature elevated to a beautiful peak when its clean backing vocals bring in the soothing harmony. The title track hinges on a rather folk vibe. Its tricky, swiftly meandering melody has the groove and jive of something native and cultural. The tune drifts into a darkness that gets chopped and churned as the music searches for a crescendo it doesn't quite reach.

Its covers split the mood. Rock And Roll Is Dead jives out its funk with a Jazz band, the screams and distortion guitars playing second fiddle to the dominant instruments. Its almost gaudy but somehow seems to work. Wrathchild does something a little similar in moments, taking the classic Iron Maiden song and throwing in some saxophone led spice into the mix. Its good but its metallic aspect doesn't give much the original can't. Its been a fun listen, a well executed set of songs with an interesting inclusion of instruments not traditional to metal but not something to rave about.

Favorite Track: Nord

Rating: 5/10

Aeons Confer "Zero Elysium" (2019)

Fun fact, this is the 1000th post on this blogpsot! That's a lot of music, time well spent but time that has flown by fast. It also feels fitting this numerical milestone would land on the shoulders of a band with a personal origin story for me. Before the streaming and easy discovery days of the Internet, I stumbled across the German band Aeons Confer's website in a pursuit of music similar to Dimmu Borgir. It was their The Soul Of The Universe record that became this unheard of gem, a relic among my friendship group, yet probably reached a minute amount of ears globally. Out of the blue a decade later they return from silence with the almighty debut full length, Symphonies Of Saturnus, one that's grown on me as I frequent it to this day.

Another six years roll by and now we have the groups sophomore record, one that retains their spirit yet advances the Symphonic aesthetic into the edges of a bleak icy cosmic abyss of space that clearly inspires their music on many levels. Embracing a meatier approach to the rhythm section, deep tonal guitars, almost Djent in nature, chug and stomp along tightly between the battering drum kit that sounds slick and brutal. Its synths are steered into more electronic synthetic tones, the sort you might hear in Trance or Aggro-Tech. They play a subtle roll in building the unforgiving cosmic atmosphere, often in bursts of tonality, looking for texture rather than melody. Every song holds together this vibe for a very consistent listening experience.

Its tight performance and cold nature borders on Industrial at times as the meat of the music churns away with a unending mechanical precision. These songs progress and unfold with acute, timely variations of unrelenting intensities. Distortion guitars often deploy sterile grooves, sparing melody for outbreaks of respite and relief. The clean vocals resonate in these moments, giving glimpses of color from the otherwise mechanical pallet. Its cosmic theming is held together throughout, its constant arrivals of angered guttural shouts and shrill screams reinforce the nebula. It can further be felt again with a closer inspection of the lyric sheet.

With many short and brief sentences, the wording marvels in the forces of the universe. Smart and technical language conjures visions on a colossal scale as planets and spacial phenomena become the play things for story telling with a vast sense of epic proportion. Its vocabulary is dense and a great fit for the overall feel. After a fair few listens Zero Elysium started to strike me as a deep record, the sort that keeps giving the more you get to know. Initially its starkness had me feeling It may not be all that but stick with it and you'll find quite the inter galactic experience awaits!

Rating: 7/10

Borknagar "True North" (2019)

Borknagar, I remember! The glum shed on a fog swept field, a typically unreadable and yellow band logo atop the image. Their first album came out right in the mid 90s boom of post-global exposure Black Metal. Knowing they had ICS Vortex in the lineup, once of Dimmu Borgir and Arcturus, I felt quite keen to find out what one of my favorite voices was up to. To little surprise, the band have matured a lot from what I remember of that atypical, dingy, carbon copy debut record, the sort that just fell off into the flood of new bands joining in on the act.

To my pleasure they now take on moody atmospheres of northern folk charm. With sprinklings, often climatic, of screams, blast beats and power chord shredding, the band evenly resonate a calmer side brewing luscious settings of serenity interwoven with metallic upheavals of momentum. Its a progressive fusion of styles, rather adjacent to In The Woods. Dark and earthly songs forged through thoughtful musical arrangements sap magic from its instruments with visions of natural beauty.

Vortex's singing is an absolute pleasure, still a master of the gleaming, manly "clean vocal", he glides over these scenic soundtracks effortlessly. Its organic music with soft synths and colorful lead guitars. The three tend to interchange on leading the music forth and its held together with superb drumming that's a little on the mechanical side with its industrious hammering of stiff drum rolls. Quite often does the rhythmic syncopation of Metal guitars drive the music too and with that True North offers up variety and balance between the extreme and melodic ends of this style. Inspiring!

Favorite Tracks: Up North, Voices

Rating: 7/10

Shade Empire "Omega Arcane" (2013)

I've sunk my teeth in deep on this one, enjoying its immersion over and over. Some albums present a charm that once familiarity sets in it can vanish. In the case of Omega Arcane it has a gift that will keep giving for years to come. So rather than write up my thoughts on this excellent record, I thought Id keep it in rotation for some time longer and with that has come a great appreciation for this meaty CD filling seventy four minutes of Orchestral Black Metal. Hailing from the UK, Shade Empire have out done Dimmu Borgir at their own game, specifically the Abrahadabra era where the Norwegians steered their iconic Symphonic incorporation of keyboards to actual in house orchestras. I do however feel they lost their charm in this transition.

Alongside the commonplace barrage of relenting blast beats, howling screams and aggressive guitar work, Shade Empire deploy a range of tonality in the symphonic avenue. String sections, brass instruments, trumpets and horns, even striking orchestral drum strikes. It has a rich depth that effortlessly blends into the metallic cascade of intensity. This also extends into more typical keyboard synths, electric pianos and on occasion furthering into the tonality of synth led music as no idea seems out of reach if it fits the billing. Its best heard in interluding journeys where drum machine deployment reminds me of the E.S. Posthumous fusion of Classical, modern indulgent Electronic elements and atmosphere aiding drum machines.

 This superb cohesion provides stunning depth with its rich layers of symphonic sound, underpinned by the crushing pummeling of crunchy guitars chugging tempered grooves. The slick rattling of rapid, dexterous drumming shudders like a pulse, slaming through it all with a commanding guidance to hold everything together. Its all rather intense, with each instrument the potential to overpower is present but they slickly achieve a balance and let the musical writing beneath elevate the aesthetic chemistry. The screeching vocals too have intensity but fortunately variety favors as deep guttural whispering tells tales, playing up the epic fantasy narrative the record has in droves. With a few voices at play, it shapes up well, avoiding staleness.

With such an engrossing musical construct, everything is set in place for endearing song writing to play out a rather diverse set of songs that meet in this fantasy realm of snow and storms. With many measures of temperament the songs can shift intensities while never letting up on a luscious layer of orchestral sound. It all feels rehearsed to deliver stunning swells of emotion as the so called crescendos and peaks seem to roll out in frequency. Its seventy plus minutes never seem to drag feet, each track firing up its unique take on the pallet available and with the start of each new number comes the reminder of the moments in store, yet to unravel there treausres. It also arrives between slews of ambience leaning atmospheric passageways that enrich the theme.

So far its all been praise and the reality is I can't think of anything to criticize. At first I may have had thoughts of preferring certain ideas to be executed differently but with time absolutely everything about this record makes sense to itself. There isn't even think there is a song worth gutting, the bar of quality is that high. The best tracks are however rolled up in the albums opening but even at the other end Slumbering Giant and the title track are very convincing songs that have just as much immersion.

What we have here on Omega Arcane is an excellent execution of intense Metal music but also a true understanding of the orchestral, electronic and atmospheric side. It feels like a mastery from its both perspectives, perhaps more so the latter. Rather than being used as an accent or aid, this thematic avenue has been fully realized. The chemistry between its two sides is sublime, that's where it stands apart from others who lump in synths as a layer of color. This is a gem I'll cherish for times to come!

Rating: 9/10

Mare Cognitum "Phobos Monolith" (2014)

It was once the experience of a music lover to flick through crates of vinyl sleeves in a dusty record store, looking for something to land your attention and empty your wallet. In the digital age it is Bandcamp alone that has managed to recreate that market place feeling and so easily am I sucked in to browsing binges. If this illustrious artwork and the promise of "Cosmic Black Metal" isn't enough to lure me in then abandon awaits thee. Fortunately this music matches the class of this modern Black Metal act, a one man band from Portland Oregon. Its got all the shades of Progressive, Post and Shoegaze, not wondering far from the American blueprint, culminating in a sweet experience of darkly voyages into the symphonic abyss.

Two of its four tracks reside more so in the traditional lane. Entropic Hallucinations opens up with a devilish, infesting blast beat and snaky grinding guitar riff played with an allure aided from a sweep effect cruising past its hurtling rhythm like icy winds. Ephemeral Eternities, being the other, also has cunning execution of blast beats with rapid tom drum fire. Going through progressive structures that "follows ones nose" so to speak, they embark on arrangements of tremolo riffs, maniacal drumming and screams both guttural and shrill that check all the boxes of familiarity with inklings of particular bands as influences on this flavorful journey of scale.

The records production to be merited. Phobos Monolith for all its extremities is masterfully mixed to make cushioned and warm tones of all its instruments. They reside within reverberated spaces to amplify its cosmic, astral leaning in theme. The song writing is also champion, it can lock in your attention for fifty minutes as these songs twist, wind, soar and scale. Album opener Weaving The Thread Of Transcendence take a prize for the most progressive track, starting from mysterious embers it stokes a flame that turns into a roaring fire of color as the song blossoms with bright guitar leads and plundering unions with a hurtling momentum stoked by the drumming.

Noumenon rocks the shoegazing strand strongly on a warm and colorful track that almost sways into Alcest territory if it wasn't for snarling, viscous screams anchoring it to darkness. As mentioned before this record has many flavors and they come together sweetly. A very solid record, perhaps just shy of greatness, missing something exceptional. Its foundation is bedrock but never quite exceeds itself. Very impressive, I will be back to check out more of this band soon!

Rating: 7/10

Arkhtinn "最初の災害" (2018)

Putting an end to their sequential roman numeral releases seems fitting as the French artist Arkhtinn dispels composition issues that often stunted the flow of the last few records. Its quite the feat to create fluid songs at twenty minutes of length and with this release we are treated to two full Metal tracks, the ambient half being ditched which is probably for the best given their mediocrity. The Japanese title translates "First Disaster" of which the two tracks are first and second. Its another plunge into the depths of darkness, hurtling through the nothingness on a roller coaster of intensity.

Once again the production advances with a crisper tone but one that is notably sharp and angular. I never felt like I quite adjusted to it and the muddiness that emerges in the wall of sound. It is however perfectly capable of birthing the cold astral void the music roars from beyond. Its main vocal component is a wretched howling shriek mixed slightly above the over instruments. Its cutting, a little grating, just two things that jerk the ears in an otherwise excellent musical experience. Both songs tend to elongate the process, where VI blitzed through its riffs and arrangements these two tracks stretch them out and pace the progression leading to many satisfying out bursts of conclusion after the intense pummeling. It should be said though this works far better as background music. When giving it your soul focus the cycling of sections can go on for minutes and the intense blast beats and guitar shredding feels like a drone.

That is mostly true of the first song though. On the second I only recall two moments of the Darkspace chug guitars stomping into the fold. It actually feels rather welcome after twenty five minutes of relentless fire. Its this song that has more experimental wonder to it. The glistening astral synths get to peak through a little more and some "evil riff" guitar work reminds me fondly of Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia in places as it breaks up the blast beats and give the song some dynamism to its flow. The song has a greater range of peaks and really goes out on a high with its ascending cascading chord progressions in the final quarter. It is really this song along the makes the record special, the first pales in comparison. Can't wait to see whats next!

Favorite Track: 二番

Rating: 7/10

Arkhtinn "VI" (2018)

This sixth installment in the Arkhtinn series is another two halves of blisteringly nihilistic Black Metal and creepy ambiguous Dark Ambient noise. Chapters IV and V both steadily progressed in opening up the aesthetic clarity, or dampening the lack off it. VI follows in this trend, sounding a fraction clearer but most notably hits an impressive stride in its opening segment. Pummeling monotonous blast beats and astral synths play with the perpetual epic scaling foundational to the music. Its another race to the depths of the cold, lonely void and with a sweet succession of stake raising atmosphere through annihilating rapid pedal work, the track soars to new heights.

The pace thickens as slews of monstrous, howling screams of agony play up the inklings of melody and tune that crescendo this surging start. It then hits a pivot point with the typical Darkspace dominant guitar chug smothering the musics tone. From this point onward its a progressive maze of ideas with recurring themes. A hard hitting and sinister guitar riffs that take center stage at first, then shifts tone as hauntings of astral melodies fall into rotation. The song fails to lock back into a sense of linage, although some of the sections around the sixteen minute mark rescue a sense of direction and conclusion but it too falls to sudden shifts that feel unconnected.

Its Ambient counterpart has been the least interesting so far. Its a lengthy slog of ambiguous noises. Hums and drones of bells clatter in a dungeon like atmosphere. One can feel the fog drifting through unlit and dank corridors, chambers and rooms. Unsavory whispering voices can be heard rumbling under the fog and as the echos bounce around, the song slowly musters up intensity as groans turn into rumbling growls and screams build up into intense swells. It breaths and contracts but nether reaches a shift it tone or an event, it just drones on and on. Some progression and direction would of made it far more interesting, once you decipher whats going on that's about it. The track just lingers on its main idea. This chapter has some of their best but also suffers stagnating song design of perpetual shifts worse than before.

Rating: 6/10

Arkhtinn "V" (2017)

Back for another plunge into the cosmic abyss we plunder V, the fifth Arkhtinn chapter. Although structured with the same two track format, both the shivery cold Black Metal onslaught and its complimenting Dark Ambient piece make their distinctions. Opening with an astral gleam of shimmering distant stars, its mysterious synths get to breath and make themselves known between the angular walls of sound we shall be battered with. When the blast beat thunders and the ferocity engulfs, slow and steady guitar chords let the synths flicker through in an epic delight. It opens up to a true sense of ascension and the drums switch into a double pedal blitz that rolls too its own groove.

As a rare moment of suspended calm takes hold, the fractured nature of the songs design reveals before the flick of a switch plunges us again into peril-less void only illuminated by the flickering astral synths. The guitars again offer elongated power chords showing a wider range of temperaments, eventually leading into more chunky palm muted guitar grooves. It furthers its descent with a break of unsettled bleakness, a psychedelic guitar lead shimmers from the shadows with a touch of Oranssi Pazuzu black magic! The song finds its way back to shrill pummeling and howling roars as an enchanting lead guitar climaxes the music around the thirteen minute mark.

From that point the song again shifts through similar phases, meandering through an extended section of unsettling synths that give one last burst of horror as a final blast of black noise surprises the listener. Its a far more diverse song with clear and stronger influences from traditional Symphonic Black Metal taking hold, yet its progression and structure do not birth more than the momentary arrangements. They do however dazzle in the spectacular darkness of low-fidelity mysteria. It makes for a far more memorable song but strays from the formula, probably for the best.

Its eighteen minute counterpart is more of a freight than the last Ambient piece. Its slew of mysterious and esoteric synths are complimented by howls and screams that lurk in the shadows and ride cold winds into focus. Its melodies elude and plenty of ambiguous rumblings create an atmosphere of wonder suspended before the arrival of dreaded horrors. An illuminating track keen to liven any imagination for the darker side. Overall this is a much better record, maybe the band show signs of developing a more refined and unique approach to the Darkspace motif. Lets see where they go!

Rating: 7/10

Arkhtinn "IV" (2017)

It felt like a blessing to have finally stumbled upon another band emulating the shivering abyss of existential dread Darkspace once conjured. It immediately caught my ear once I heard the distinct lack of high range frequency and a claustrophobic aesthetic. The same tropes are deployed, bass and distortion guitars meld with relentless blast beats to form a nauseating force of ambiguous dark pummeling. Its discernible nature is its mystique, setting the tone for synths to rise from the deathly depths and plunge the listener through a sense of cascading epic that I simply adore.

This mysterious French bands albums are all free to devour on bandcamp. I decided to start here at the forth installment because the first free have raw and ropy production, too much for my tastes. This record, like all the others, comprises of two similar length songs. The first twenty minutes are the evil ecstasy and the second half a Dark Ambient piece of droning sounds relishing in their ambiguous form. Tension is mounted and sustained as an atmosphere of unease gets conjured by these soft and eerie drones that creek and groan over the soft underlying organ alike synth tone. Its brooding, frightful and slightly dystopian.

The Black Metal song is mainly kicked along by its underbelly of rising synth that queues all the musical shifts. Its chord changes feel like a revelation as the suspense of the unending pummeling is pivoted to new heights without changing its onslaught. The guitar work finds its roll in tremolo picking scaling melodies that rise and fall with menace. Towards the latter stages the song breaks up the flow with chunky rhythm guitar chugging, much like Darkspace do. After that point the darkness seems to ponder on the same intensity and lacks a gratifying conclusion.

The vocals are a treat too, mean beastly growls and shrill harrowing screams are elongated consistently. They have a traditional edge but the reverberations and low fidelity capturing lets them slip right into the sound design as another layer of despair. The record is a real pleasure, to finally have something new from a niche I adore. I particularly love the astral, spacial feel of the music. With a keen ear one can hear the glistening of stars flickering as glimmers of glossy synth barely peaking through the wall of utterly ferocious sound. Great record, can't wait for the next installment.

Rating: 6/10

Sigh "Heir To Despair" (2018)

Many years on from the epic of Imaginary Sonicscape, Japanese band Sigh still can't seem to find a footing and direction that is entirely concrete. This year around they echo some hall marks of their classic record with morphed voices and unusual fusions of cultural roots but the collision of ideas under a Black Metal flag is all to haphazard. The album puts its foot in mouth with the second track, a possible tribute that plays like a blatant Iron Maiden rip off in its intro and outro. Although the track is mostly composed of furious riffing and blazing guitars, its stiff jump to the Ace's High riff just sets an odd tone for a record that lacks focus.

Its a guitar oriented record, the fretwork constantly winding with grooves, pinch harmonics and chugs all with a distinct distortion tone. The musics motion generally pivots on its energy, which Mirai Kawashima electrifies with his shrill, snarly and raspy shouts. Not always a welcoming presences, his narrow range is often stretched, sounding thin and weak. Its aggressive elements play up against native sounds, the Taishogoto, flute, piccolo, other woodwind instruments chime in meekly. Its even got a few unorthodox percussive sounds for a Metal band. They all seem to arrive out of turn, a complimenting addition often overpowered by the drums and guitars. The opening track however finds a balance, giving much light to its unusual side.

Three part track Heresy revives their electronic experimental ideas from the aforementioned Imaginary Sonicscape but not to much avail. It opens with its best and goes off on a tangent of unfinished ideas and noise oddities. The last song, clocking in over ten minutes, has great flow and scale but once again hails back to their classic, resurrecting a section from Requiem Nostalgia that should of just stayed there. Its been enjoyable to hear Sigh's sound again but there is little direction or focus here, just another hash of ideas that relys on their tropes and unique fusion of sounds.

Rating: 4/10

Favorite Tracks: Aletheia, Heir To Despair

Behemoth "I Loved You At Your Darkest" (2018)

 Its been four years since The Satanist gate crashed the larger expanses of the Metal scene with a commercial breakthrough. My comments as to why are based only on meager looks into their back catalog of an additional ten records. A transition from their Norwegian inspired Black Metal roots to a Death Metal hybrid, bolstering tight playing and grinding of commonplace techniques gave way to a greater sense of theme and theater that resonated. I found myself lured into the grand and thematic approach to darkness heard on that record, as it would seem many did and so they have returned on this vein again. The Satanist made it into My Top Albums Of 2014 list, however no post exists as it was before I started this music blog.

The album opens with Solve, we hear an unhallowed choir of children sing their cries of committal against Christ as the guitars brood, fading them out of focus as a couple bursts of cushioned yet bruising blast beats errupt. It sets a tone for nefarious, illustrious atmospheres, wicked visions and the unruly conjuring of satanic spirits. The following music aims its sights to invoke a grueling darkness with its respite between the follies of pummeling drums, expansive guitar work and obedient screams of service to the dark lord. It is not without its helping of gravitating blast beats and grinding, evil guitars but most these songs make their mark with new and different approaches that look at the music beyond the scope of atypical Extreme Metal.

It is perhaps "unfortunate" for these veterans that when their music falls back on the genres hallmarks it finds strength and unsurprisingly a brilliance counterpart to their artistic intent, for the albums better songs, tracks like Sabbath Mater, find a magical balance where the majority of the music is rode forth by this expectancy and the flair of artistry erupts in its wake. A guitar solo leads us out of its expectant grind through an expansive flow of uplifting acoustic guitars before driving us into its hellish conclusion. Bursts of relentless blast beats exchange blows against the visionary roar of trumpets, strings and screams of torment that swell in the swaying back and forth.

A fair amount of the songs gravitate around its expansive, atmosphere driven approach to dark, satanic themes. Its can be hit or miss, although the record maintains its commitment to a hellish world of deviance with an intriguing arrangement of instruments that doesn't always strike gold. Simultaneously there are moments where they do. Maybe its a matter of taste but unlike The Satanist, some of these dark alluring visuals conjured through roars of devoted voices and the subtle inclination of stringed instruments don't reach the same heights. It does what's expected where its predictable and lingers adrift from greatness in its most ambitious narrative. Despite this nitpicking of response to their ungodly music, its a fully formed enjoyable record.

Favorite Tracks: God = Dog, Bartzabel, Angelvs XIII, Sabbath Mater, We Are The Next 1000 Years

Rating: 8/10

The Lion's Daughter "Future Cult" (2018)

With every listen Future Cult has crept deeper into the conscious, its harsh iterations of Extreme Metal and obvious synthetic experiments have yielded charm in their familiarity. What was initially a wretched experiment of clashing styles found its territory as the repetitions revealed the chemistry that's not so always apparent. The Missouri based Black Metal outfit jump the bandwagon and fuse elements of Synthwave and this surge of interest in Carpenter horror soundtrack aesthetics.

The band have a harsh aesthetic, readily reliant on the pummel of blast beats and angular discordant guitars, commanded by the flat and narrows shouts of singer Giordano. The best bits emerge from the moments between when intensities wavier and so its harshness serves as that root into extremity it frequently turns too as the music drops in and out of its anger. In these fluctuations the trio prime the atmosphere for the music to break to its more meaningful and progressive passageways which give most the songs here conclusive moments of dark illumination.

The retro synths would fit sweetly into a 80s horror soundtrack but not so much in the case of this mid paced metallic pounding. Instead of sacrificing their harsh and assaulting aesthetic and jagged music to fit the synths in, the three let them rub upside. The clash is obvious yet the charm is in progression, how the music finds its way to more cohesion, the brutality sways into chemistry and that is their sweet spot.

The introduction to The Gown highlights this chemistry as the dialed down guitar tones work with the synths through an initially percussion less instrumental in perfect tandem. The texture and atmosphere oozes over the warm, burly baseline. As the record stretches on a couple of tracks cop out of the experiment with the synths being pushed deep to layers of grit and fuzz heard in the creeks between thick distortion chords. The do however remain as solid songs in the run time.

There is definitely something to be done with these two styles. The Lion's Daughter have dipped their toes in and proved the waters warm. However my take away from this record is their musicianship, more so than the aesthetics that often feel rigid and raw. The synths could easily be swapped out for guitars and retain the same atmosphere as I felt their dark avenue is what shinned more so that the Carpenter accent. I hope they continue on this path and push the fusion further.

Favorite Tracks: Future Cult, Call The Midnight Animal, Die Into Us, The Gown, Grease Infant, Galaxy Ripper
Rating: 8/10

Dimmu Borgir "Eonian" (2018)

Its been well over a decade since the Norwegian Symphonic Black Metal outfit Dimmu Borgir were in their prime, I would consider 2004's Death Cult Armageddon to be the groups last truly great record. Since then the bands activity has slowing, their records In Sorte Diaboli and Abrahadabra haven't lived up to the former glory. With a worrying eight year gap between albums I welcome anything from my favorite band but reserve any excitement as it would be foolish to expect them to rekindle the old flames. This newest adventure embarks us on a ritualistic journey through ancient astral lore as its tone and track listing would suggest.

This new chapter been a fair listen, an easy, enjoyable record that does little wrong but lacks the intensity and atmosphere to elevate its core ideas to epic proportion. Further exaggerating what they have done before, Eonian is finely tuned with its crisp and gleaming production, polished to a fault. It takes a real hammering of blast beats and guitar trashing to create anything remotely overwhelming. Instead the record often indulges in this sleek sound with eruptions of lush atmospheres that lean on its light, audible guitar licks, comforting symphonics and expansive drums that conjures a sense of scale with its lumbering pace packed with arranged fills.

Either its crutch or a crux the record continually embellishes many of its climatic and powerful passageways with these strong choirs, often effeminate voices soaring with a touch of devilish mischief and between them plenty of choral synths line much of the musics design. Often its fantastic, on a few instances a little soar but most of all its an obvious progression from a trend on Abrahadabra that leaves the guitars playing second fiddle to everything else. Its not something to take issue with, just an observation that they are toned down by these musicians who used to bring so much venom and exhilarating annihilation through their power chord shredding riffs.

Behind the aesthetics and nuances of composition we have some fantastic song writing that tends to stray towards cosmically majestic and uplifting moments as opposed to the hellish plunges into darkness they would so commonly do in the past. Essentially these are seasoned musicians evolving their sound in the opposite direction yet holding onto their "extreme" identity. It results in mixed feelings, an appreciation of the now more expansive music, yet an attachment to how these songs might of once played out decades ago in a more to the point manor. With lingering elements of their old identity holding on it sounds like they aren't quite through a transitional period, however Eonian clearly reaches the other side with quite a few strides on this decent record.

Favorite Tracks: I Am Sovereign, Archaic Correspondence, Rite Of Passage

Rating: 7/10

Keep Of Kalessin "Armada" (2006)

With an itch requiring scratching I recently picked out a few records by bands Ive yet to hear in a guide to Black Metal list that fortunately didn't focus on the classics I know inside out. It shone its light on overlooked and underrated albums from lesser known bands. Armada keenly caught my attention in comparison with Emperor's classic Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk. Interestingly enough Keep Of Kalessin, who Id never heard of before, were active in Norway during the scenes formation years but due wavering commitments of drummer Larsen, who was touring with Satyricon, it took him a decade to settle down and focus on the project as his main ambition, leading to a string of albums of which this was the first released.

Armada's sharp, angular tone of shrill ripping guitars and rigid hellbent drums blasting at dizzying intensity had me initially finding this one hard to get into. As with this genre more than any other, repetition is key! The old lesson of familiarity, letting the music blossom, however Vengeance Rising will always test my boundaries with its utterly ridiculous and inhuman blast beat that pushes tempos as hard as they can go. The record is full of breezing bursts of pace and eruptions of anger, bearing the hallmarks of blast beats, arriving in common, yet frequently impressive fashion. There is no arguing over Larsens talent, his rapid feet and dexterous arms make for a distinctive flavor.

With his wild rattling barrages of drums at the forefront of much of the music it takes on quite an aggressive attitude, the fast and thrashing guitar work charges at its side with plenty of all out tremolo shredding and technical chugging grooves plucked in between, plunging towards the listener with a racing pace. The antagonizing screams of Isaksen linger in constant menace as burly howls are unleashed with a shrill roughness that's rarely trying to win you over, however the breaks to ancient, cultural, Viking choral chants conjure a lot of atmosphere in comparison, its unfortunately infrequent.

The second track, Crown Of Kings, sets a bar the rest of the record doesn't keep up with. That song has whats missing, progression. Its chaotic opening riffs whirl away through fiery intensity that builds, builds and then importantly gives way. A few minutes in the drum drop to half time and an upbeat baseline ques in a moment to breath as the guitars gleam in a glittery riff. Its the shift in gears that made Emperor's aforementioned effort so fantastic and this record really feels like in needed those breaks, because without them its intensity is unrelenting and that can be burdening. I do think that was the artistic intent here and it is mostly fantastic but a lack of fluid respite in the music made it a little to strong for me.

Favorite Tracks: Crown Of The Kings, Winged Watcher, Deluge, Amada

Rating: 7/10

Saturnian "Dimensions" (2012)

Plucked straight from the mystic realms of symphonic darkness, the Reading based band Saturnian leave us with just a single record from their short four year lifespan. Fans of Dimmu Borgir, Old Man's Child and Aeons Confer will rejoice in these Britons classy execution of the sound the Norwegians pioneered and popularized. Sharp, crisp Black Metal fused with the wondrous sounds of astral symphonies give us a rich experience with all the hallmarks, including a helping of clean vocals breaks and keyboard led interludes. There are no surprises here, just quality songs performed and recorded like the best of them do it.

And so the album unfolds with a temperate pacing, a measured consistent intensity. The drums batter away with pacy blast beats and plenty of double pedal rolls as they continually shift between the common beats of this sound. Its involved, always having a hand in steering the direction but never feels to upfront, a good balance for the overall feel. Its the keys and guitars that steal the show. They have a formative chemistry, the guitars shred out tremolo leads and linear grooves while the airy synths enrich the atmosphere, however at any moment either can jump into focus as the driving melody of the music with orchestral symphonies and blazing solos.

The raspy, scowling vocals aren't much to be desired, more of something Ive become accustom too, they taunt at the forefront of the sound with little sinking in. Its the choral chants of burly men and the effeminate clean vocals that are most illuminating for the music as a whole. Its expansive melodic sections leaning into Gothic territory in brief moments very akin to fellow Britons Cradle Of Filth. In summary its simply a great record exploring a well established sound. It brings nothing new to the table but that doesn't stop it from being very enjoyable and engrossing.

Rating: 7/10

Summoning "As Echoes From The World Of Old" (2018)

To compliment their new full length album, With Doom We Come, the Austrian duo Summoning release a fifteen minute, two track EP from the same recording session. The first a steady burning flame of nine minutes journeying its burly guitar droning and hunching Nazgul screams through an epic landscape marked by the pounding of deep Orkish drums and continual melodic inflections on a mysterious harp like instrument. Its climaxed by a warm flute melody that rides above the music and ads a focal point for the song as it drops in and out with more accompanying instruments harmonizing like empowering trumpets each time.

It gives the song a sense of linage which the second track doesn't get close to. With a gloomier, thicker guitar dominance and the returning pounding of tribal drums its similar construct and steady pace doesn't achieve the same charm as its complimenting melodies stem from a more sorrowful, uneventful source of imagination. These two, more primitive songs, could of made the final cut but you can see why they are bonus tracks, they are rather simplistic and repetitive. A fair setting is conjured but it doesn't scale near the heights of the full length.

Favorite Track: As Echoes From The World Of Old

Rating: 2/10