Mystras - Castles Conquered and Reclaimed

#FOR FANS OF: Medieval Black

Two thousand twenty is being undoubtedly a brilliant year for the Greek metal scene, particularly in the black field, with excellent albums coming one after another. Sometimes these new works are opuses from veteran bands and other times they represent the first work of novel bands. In any case, quality and a good taste for melodies are always present, regardless of the degree of heaviness or rawness that each project delivers. Speaking about new projects, the Greek solo project Mystras has recently released its debut album. This project was founded only one year ago by Ayloss, a talented musician behind other interesting projects like Divine Element and especially Spectral Lore, a great atmospheric black metal band which I firmly recommend. Taking into account the previous projects, it is pretty clear that Ayloss has a huge number of ideas to develop in different directions. Mystras may have inherited some influences from other projects like the aforementioned Spectral Lore, its folkish melodies, or aggressiveness but focused on a totally new and different direction.

‘Castles Conquered and Reclaimed’ is the Mystras debut album and it supposes a tremendously personal and particular fusion of pure black metal aggression with a strong medieval vibe. The interesting aspects of this impressive debut are not only found in the music, but also in its conceptual side. In fact, the lyrics are based on the medieval times but this time they take from the oblivion of common folk instead of the traditionally arrogant and powerful kings and nobles. The album consistes of nine different tracks, being divided into the black metal ones and some folk interludes which bring to us the medieval traditional music and therefore, reinforcing the medieval atmosphere included. Although this is a solo project, Ayloss was helped by other talented musicians to provide an undoubtedly beautiful representation of Ars Nova repertoire. I sincerely think that this was a wise choice as the musician shows that he wants to achieve the best possible result for the album. Even though these tracks are really nice and enjoyable, I would focus on the metal tracks to make a final and fair evaluation of this debut. ‘Castles Conquered and Reclaimed’ has a truly raw production, which may alienate fans of metal who prefer a cleaner production, but it will rejoice those who consider that black metal achieves a greater result when the production is filthy because it creates a more unique and stronger atmosphere. Nevertheless, this raw production never surpasses a limit where guitars could be unintelligible. Fortunately, composition-wise this album has certain strong points that can still be enjoyed, through the crude sound. Five are the compositions inside the realms of black metal. All of them are highly enjoyable and with a truly epic atmosphere. The songs are usually fast, though sometimes they slow the pace in order to add some variety. The guitars are powerful presenting a distorted sound, though some great melodies are introduced, making the songs more interesting. Vocals are also a strong point here, with the expected high-pitched screams, accompanied in several songs by epic choirs, so impressively solemn that reinforce the sense of epicity and majesty. In the background, we find some key arrangements which play ai important role in increasing the stateliness of these compositions. The album opening track is a nice example of this mix of influences and resources. The guitars are rude but also melodic, showing a remarkably interesting sound, that even being brutal in its execution has a great room for melody and atmosphere. Subsequent tracks like "The Murder of Wat Tyler" and "Storm the Walls of Mystras" raise the bar of majesty with a long duration, and where melodic influences, a strong epic atmosphere and relentless fury are wisely fused. The medieval vibe is obviously present in all the tracks, though I must highlight songs like "The Zealots of Thessaloniki" and the aforementioned "The Murder of Wat Tyler" as fine examples of this influence. The previously mentioned folk and ambient songs serve as a bridge between the stormy track and reinforce this sense of a mystical journey through medieval realms.

‘Castles Conquered and Reclaimed’ is indeed an impressive debut that any fan of black metal should check out and enjoy. Fury, melody and atmosphere are the quintessential elements of the black metal genre and this album contains a great dose of all of them. (Alain González Artola)

(I, Voidhanger - 2020)
Score: 88

https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/castles-conquered-and-reclaimed

Verikyyneleet - Ilman Kuolemaa

#FOR FANS OF: Black Old School

Verikyyneleet is a Finnish obscure project, which was founded in the '90s. As it often happens in the black metal underground, some projects decide to remain in the shadows, only releasing demos or extremely rare and limited EPs, which usually go unnoticed unless you are an expert carving the deeps of this genre. Verikyyneleet, which means "Bloodtears" is a one-man project that finally decided to take a step forward, recording an embryonal version of ‘Ilman Kuolema’, the debut album, six years ago. This obscure album saw the light in 2019, but it has officially been released in an extended version this year, including more songs which have been composed during the last twenty years.

Considering this aspect and when the project was founded, it shouldn´t be surprising that Verikyyneleet´s core sound is firmly rooted in the '90s pure black metal. Musically speaking, this is not a straightforward furious black metal record, though it contains a good dose of it, but a primitive soundtrack, where fury and a dark melancholic atmosphere are fused to create a quite hypnotic album. As mentioned, the compositions mix the natural aggressiveness of the genre with a strong atmospheric essence, as it is perfectly displayed in the homonymous track, which opens the album after a short intro. The speedy drums, raspy and distant vocals and pure black metal-esque guitars are excellently mixed with some keys and ambience arrangements, which balance the composition in order to achieve this primordial atmosphere of the old classics of this genre. Another fine example of this mixture, would be the longest track of this album, entitled "Ei Todellista Voimaa…", which includes the aforementioned characteristics, and in addition, a good dose of slow sections with a strong feeling of despair. Moreover, this track and the others incuded on this album, show a noticeable point of distortion and dissonance, which are the most experimental aspects of a theoretically classic album. These dissonant tones are especially present in the guitars in contrast to atmospheric arrangements. Personally, I am not a great fan of these experiments and I prefer the ambience sections made by the keys, which result more captivating. The vocals are the classic shrieks, quite high-pitched and with a truly raw nature. They are present in almost all the songs, though there is a little room for variation, with cleaner and dramatic vocals in a song like "Yhtä Luonnon Kanssa". The production is remarkably raw and primitive. The vocals sound distant though listenable, the guitars have a good amount of distortion and sound filthy, while the drums sound a little buried in the mix. This production is done on purpose and helps to reinforce the primeval atmosphere of this record, which could have been recorded in 1998 and you wouldn´t notice the difference.

All in all, ‘Ilman Kuolemaa’ is an interesting album of '90s black metal which will appeal the fans who miss those old times. Composition wise, the album has a good balance between fierceness and atmosphere, which makes it interesting. (Alain González Artola)

(I, Voidhanger Records - 2020)
Score: 68

https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/ilman-kuolemaa

Esoctrilihum - Eternity of Shaog

#FOR FANS OF: Experimental Black Metal

Esoctrilihum is one of those obscure solo-projects where it is hard to find any information. We even don´t know when it was created, though the debut album was released only in 2017, so we can assume that it is a rather new project. Anyway, these last three years have been more than enough for this interesting solo project, created by Asthâghul, to release the impressive amount of five albums. Some may think that this amount isn´t that outstanding speaking about a one man band, especially if we take into account that the musician behind this project, seems to be sorely focused on this band, but Esoctrilihum’s has nothing to do with those simplistic and quite repetitive black metal projects. Moreover, I can safely say that this project´s music has a respectable amount of complexity and hours of work as the songs are long, varied and contain full of different details. In the debut album entitled ‘Mystic Echo from a Funeral Dimension’, Esoctrilihum played an occult black metal with strong atmospheric influences, where the compositions were convoluted and demanding. I personally enjoyed that album quite a lot and I tried to follow his next works. The subsequent albums showed a more experimental and even more complex side of this project, though this interest to experiment was already present in its first release. At any rate, the following works sounded more and more bizarre at times. Because of this and though I always respected Asthâghul`s very personal musical vision, I found the following albums as quite difficult works to enjoy.

When I read that Esoctrilihum was back with a new album entitled ‘Eternity of Shaog’, I was obviously curious to see what this new project could offer this time. As expected, this band´s music is not the easiest one to be digested and requires some adequate listenings to be fully understood. In any case, ‘Eternity of Shaog’ shows an interesting mixture of this already trademark experimentation and bizarre instinct, with some atmospheric and even epic touches, which irremediably remind me the debut album. For example, the second track entitled "Exh-Enî Söph (1st Passage: Exiled from Sanity)", successfully mixes those guitar riffs, which have a slight tendency to be experimental and the bizarre vocals, with some majestic keys and acoustic guitars. The mastermind manages to do it in a way, that it lets the song sounds majestic, yet unique in its nature. As it has been traditional with Esoctrilihum, the song is rich and varied in its structure, it continuously changes its pace and textures as it progresses during its almost nine minutes length. The subsequent track "Thritônh (2nd Passage: The Colour of Death)", shows a more aggressive face of the project and also a more prominent experimentation. It includes some intricated riffs and again the acoustic-esque guitars, which this time sound more experimental and tenebrous. As an addition, it includes a violin, a classic instrument that in Asthâghul’s hands even increases this feeling of experimentation and chaotic outlandishness. What I particularly found interesting in these tracks, and in general in the whole album listening experience, is how Esoctrilihum combines the complexity and extravagance with the atmospheric and even beauteous melodies, without breaking this basic nexus which every composition should have. As I already mentioned, Asthâghul integrates in a very interesting way the keys and the classic instruments like the piano or the violin, with the former one giving the stronger atmospheric touch, and the classic one playing in a more experimental way. The interesting use of these instruments fits perfectly well with the occult and chaotic spirit of Escotrilihum’s songs. Another highlight of the album is the track "Namhera (7th Passage: Blasphemy of Ephereàs)", with a super powerful pace and excellent guitars. But the strongest aspects of this song are the vocals performance and the key arrangements. The vocals have an interesting combination of aggressive vocals and enigmatic cleans voices, which sound in the background. On the other hand, the keys are even bombastic this time, making this song be the most epic one of this album.

In conclusion, Esoctrilihum managed a particularly interesting balance between its black metal roots and its experimental and bizarre tendency, forging an album which navigates between both sides and successfully reaches an equilibrium. This is by no means an easy album and it requires patience and careful listenings in order to enjoy this weird musical proposal. If the listener can do it, the album will be a very interesting musical experience for the most demanding fans of this occult and extreme form of metal. (Alain González Artola)

(I, Voidhanger - 2020)
Score: 83

https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/eternity-of-shaog

Midnight Odyssey - Biolume Part1 - In Tartarean Chains

#FOR FANS OF: Atmospheric Black

Black metal´s realm has been expanding during recent years, showing once again that this genre has become a magnificent cradle for more and more subgenres, which have risen from its dark core. Atmospheric black metal is undoubtedly one of the most prolific ones, both in quantity and more importantly, in quality. Among the most common topics like nature, paganism or darkness, space has become one of the trendiest ones. There are more and more bands which find a very appropriate source of inspiration in the dark vastness of the space. This theme seems to be a great one to create a particularly hypnotic form of atmospheric black metal. Among these bands, there is a one-man project which has especially shone, Midnight Odyssey. This solo project, created in 2007 by Tony Parker, known as Dis Pater, takes inspiration from the aforementioned concept, but also with lyrics dealing with the matter of death, rebirth or nature, caught the attention of some fans even in its earliest demos. This positive first impression was reinforced with the subsequent first and second albums. Dis Pater has shown an enormous talent to create a particularly absorbing form of atmospheric black metal, releasing always quality stuff, but also creating very long albums with a generous duration up to two hours. This aspect could scare off some people as it is obvious that you must have some patience to listen to the full thing. Nevertheless, the quality is in general terms quite high, and though at times some songs can sound disperse, to listen to these works is an experience worth of your time.

Having reached a cult status among fans, Midnight Odyssey is back with a third instalment, which comes four years after its acclaimed sophomore album. The creature is entitled ‘Biolume Part1 - In Tartarean Chains’ and it seems to be the first part of, I guess, a duology or maybe a trilogy. Stylistically this new album doesn´t mark a departure from the previous works as its more like a logic development in the natural search of perfectioning this sound. I am sure that almost no one will complain about this lack of rupture from the project´s trademark sound. Once again Midnight Odyssey offers an atmospheric black metal full of ambience and grandeur, with those well-known cinematic keyboards with its surround sound, making the listener feel immersed in an astral journey. It´s difficult to highlight a sole track as they all conform an immersive soundtrack, but "Biolume" is indeed one of those tracks which irremediable capture out attention making us feel flying in the unattainable sky. Dis Pater has a natural talent to create beautiful key melodies, but Midnight Odyssey´s music is not only good because of the keys, the compositions are well balanced between the most aggressive parts and the majestic mid-tempos. All the tracks contain also good executed riffs. As an album ‘Biolume Part 1 - In Tartarean Chains’ sounds like the most focused and accomplished album that Midnight Odyssey has ever recorded. The album lasts, as mentioned, more than one hour, but the tracks don´t contain an unnecessary tightening. The combination of mid-tempo, slow and slightly faster sections with the ever present keys sound better balanced than in any other release. And I sincerely I can´t imagine any fan of this genre which can´t fall in love with immense tracks like "A Storm Before A Fiery Dawn", which doesn´t have a single useless second. This song like many others, sounds as mighty and regal as this genre could demand. As a vocalist, Dis Pater is also a great talent, as his shrieks are powerful and remarkably consistent. As a great addition to the vocal performance, I can´t leave without praising his excellent clean vocals, sounding sometimes like a single dramatic voice or like an epic choir. The excellent album opener "Hidden in Tartarus" is a nice example. These excellent clean vocals have a chance of shining in several tracks of this album, but they have their own especial room in the delicate composition "Pillars In the Sky", a purely ambient track which closes the album in the most solemn way.

In conclusion, Midnight Odyssey has released with ‘Biolume Part 1 - In Tartarean Chains’, probably the most focused and refined work to date. It can hardly beat the majesty of tracks like "From a Frozen Wasteland" from the previous album, but the whole album sounds as ethereal and grandiose as you could imagine, while it is simultaneously restrained in the duration of its tracks and it has never lost the focus on composing balanced songs. (Alain González Artola)

(I, Voidhanger Records - 2019)
Score: 88

https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/biolume-part-1-in-tartarean-chains

Ysengrin - Réincrudation

#FOR FANS OF: Occult Black Metal, Mortuary Drape

Ysengrin is a French band founded in Normandy back in 2005. Currently, the band consists of three musicians, being Guido Saint Roch the only founding member of this band. Ysengrin began as a solo project, but Guido has traditionally been accompanied by other two musicians in order to complete the line-up. The current bass player, known as Alrinack and Inkantator Kour, who shares the duties of playing the keys, performing the vocals and other stuff with Guido, are involved in many other underground projects. So in practice Ysengrin continues to be Guido´s personal project.

The Ysengrin´s sound is usually defined as “hermetic dark metal” and it can hardly be restricted to only one subgenre. The band´s peculiar and primitive style flows between the boundaries of doom, death and black metal. Conceptually, the music is strongly influenced by esoteric and occult themes, which play a major role in the forge of Ysengrin´s very personal creations. The ambience is dark and suffocating and the production has been traditional raw, yet very atmospheric. Ysengrin´s core sound is clearly represented in the album 'Réincrudation'. This is in fact not a new work, but a compilation of the remastered old demos 'Archivum MMV-MMX' and 'Alchimëte'. 'Réincrudation' portraits the very personal sound of Ysengrin in its purest form. The compositions have a primarily slow pace, very doomish and atmospheric. The first half of the album contain tracks like “Abstinence”, which have a pretty repetitive pace with very simple drums and riffs with a quite raw and crushing tone. The variety only comes in form of interludes, which strengthen the mysterious atmosphere of the whole work. Anyway, the most interesting tracks come at the last part of this compilation. A remarkable example would be “Antéros”, which has more diverse structures. Vocally speaking, the band combines the typically death metal growling vocals with a clean one. The growls are quite primary and remind me the most traditional and underground death metal scene. On the other hand, the clean ones have a distinctive occultist touch, as they sound like a sorcerer invoking a demon. The peak of 'Réincrudation' is undoubtedly the longest and most elaborated track entitled “Mystéres De L ´Artifex”. The production in this track seems to be better balanced and cleaner, yet still rasping. It combines the aforementioned harsh and clean vocals with better structured guitars riffs. The track flows more naturally and it has a more coherent structure, less weird, which could be worse for some people, but it is much better in my opinion. It also contains some interesting keys in the background and even some bells who add a mysterious touch. Experimentation and weirdness don´t disappear as Ysengrin still introduces some dissonant guitars riffs which reinforce this gloomy and occult ambience.

Ysengrin´s music is in fact not an easy one to digest. Though I must admit that the 65 minutes that this work lasts have been a hard tack for me, there are still some good points to highlight, which save the album for me. When the tracks are better composed and have a more varied touch Ysengrin´s occult metal can have some interesting details and remarkable sections as it happens in songs like “Mystéres De L´artifex", for example. This is obviously a demo compilation, a fact which makes understandable that the band had yet some aspects to polish. Last tracks, as I have mentioned, mark the correct path for the band so it would be interesting to see what Ysengrin can offer in 2019. (Alain González Artola)

(I, Voidhanger Records - 2019)
Score: 55

https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/r-incrudation

Ævangelist - Matricide in the Temple of Omega

#FOR FANS OF: Black/Death, Portal

Often it is an enriching experience to go into something totally blind and without apprehensions, opening a mind to new viewpoints and exploring a fresh style in an album. 'Matricide in the Temple of Omega' by Ævangelist is not one of those experiences. Imagine listening to Soundgarden's “Drawing Flies” for over an hour, except the obnoxious saxophone section breaking the song to pieces is the entire draw to an album replete with ten minute forays into a brash and biting bedlam as inert in justification for its existence as it is annoying in its every aspect. Where at first this chaos may be a challenge to the ear, an occasion to which one may feel he is rising in order to test his personal mettle when encountering the noisy theater of an uncompromising band, Ævangelist's attempts to hypnotize and discomfort an audience end up falling flat in its nihilistic avoidance of the Norwegian norm of obfuscating artistry with cacophonous distortion.

This is easy to notice as “The Sonance of Eternal Discord” falls to a disharmonic change from its curling initial structure that had actually captured the imagination for a slight moment. Instead, the shrill maelstrom melts its many moving parts into a derelict churn that fails to lift the hairs on a neck or curl into an ambiance as satisfying as the likes of Deathspell Omega. The lacking riffing platform from which such high-flying aggravation launches these egregiously long songs grates on you without any eventual endorphin ecstasy. Obnoxious shrieks fill the front with horns that create a wailing resonance like Arabian swells that become noise imbued into the hammering center of “Æeon Death Knell” while a distorted black metal saxophone that no one was asking for does its best to throw a listener out of this twosome's sound despite having little in the way of compelling combinations within to make the agony worth the while. Somehow that notion was lost between the likes of Bathory, Mayhem, and Emperor coming into this new breed of garish pandemonium that prefers to make meaningless meandering electronica over maleficent metal, having no inner aspect to unearth in order to reward the listener for his diligence in finding the gem shimmering beneath the compounding layers of noise.

Though the splash of blasting into the roiling soup of “Omen of the Barren Womb” is a slight section of satisfaction before denying that enjoyment its elaboration, a constant state of decay in these diminishing wails of Arabian antagonism (in spite of its staunch unbending construction) results in sterile and ineffectual musical tantrums with nary a structure worth deconstruction due to its refusal to depart from its dry driven tracks. Granted, Ævangelist's footprint bears the characteristics of avant-garde black metal, its inlaid treble helix swirling in the tempestuous storms of such a style built by deluges of destruction, but its art is simply no contender with the likes of Benighted in Sodom or any of the other profligate analogues to Matron Thorn's ambition. This example in Ævangelist is a show of how stale a single mind may become, especially in a band beginning its own internal meltdown and advertising it as publicly as possible. Yet somehow this project has had the longevity of a seven year long career consisting of six full-length albums, two splits, a live album, and a compilation. Considering how many awful ideas are incorporated into only 'Matricide in the Temple of Omega', it is clear that Ævangelist is only so prolific due to its nightmarish self-importance, recording every terrible idea that pops into its head as though it can become the next Troma Entertainment if only it can ship out as much inane content as possible. Yet like such contemporaries as Zarach 'Baal' Tharagh (thankfully silent for the past few years) and Sloth (a daily deluge of worthless garbage), this attempt to show one's brilliance by flooding an uninterested market means merely one's personal humiliation.

Where the likes of Njiqahdda's daunting discography enjoyed its noise through rushing waves that gracefully ebbed and flowed, incorporating its brashest bits between breaths of atmosphere, intelligently building and structuring its savagery, Ævangelist employs the textbook 'scare the children' technique of sharp screeches stabbing simple sounds, as though its haunting visions of Hell have been singularly cultivated from pop out scares in low budget horror flicks. This works in the raw forms of more bassy production and allowing shadows to overcome flowery treble, but in this open and sharp production such a notion stands to unravel what could be a worthwhile direction. Best saved for a generic Hollywood trailer that slows down an '80s pop song in order to make ominous the trials of the beautiful interacting with a green screen, Matron Thorn and Ascaris' attempts to shock a listener fall flat.

As the music has few personal touches and even less personality, the band seems set on making its mark in the press over concentrating on its craft. With Matron Thorn under the scrutiny of Facebook accusations and Ascaris supposedly ousted from the band, this duo seems to be as unstable as its art is uneven and disjointed. Through music that will never live up to the caliber of its scandal, 'Matricide in the Temple of Omega' seems to be the death knell of a terrible tangent in the careers of Matron Thorn and Ascaris. As public as this meltdown gets, it surely won't even get its own episode of S. V. U. to tag the joke. If this band is as good at sex as it is at making music there are sure to be many unhappy court dates to come. (Five_Nails)

(I, Voidhanger - 2018)
Score: 40

https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/matricide-in-the-temple-of-omega

Deitus - Via Dolorosa

#PER CHI AMA: Black Doom, Nihili Locus

Ha sicuramente una crescita lenta ma efficace il secondo album dei misteriosi inglesi Deitus, fuori per la nostrana I, Voidhanger Records. 'Via Dolorosa' segue a distanza di due anni il debutto su lunga distanza di 'Acta Non Verba' e si presenta, almeno inizialmente, come un putrido e corrosivo concentrato di black old school. "Hallowed Terror" infatti esplode dritta nel mio stereo con quel riffing serrato che tanto andava di modo negli anni '90, accompagnato dalle classiche screaming vocals, e poc'altro, ma... si c'è un ma, perchè il trio londinese ha una certa dimestichezza con i propri strumenti e si può permettere di lanciarsi anche in una ricerca di solismi di un certo livello, che alla fine rappresenteranno l'elemento distintivo della loro proposta. "Malaise" è un pezzo che si muove tra un mid-tempo ed improvvise furibonde accelerazioni, non disdegnando un cantato che mi ha evocato i nostri Nihili Locus al tempo di '...Ad Nihilum Recidunt Omnia'; ancora una volta quello che solletica il mio palato è quella ricerca di melodia negli assoli finali, davvero convincente. Cosi come convincente risulta la title track, ove sembra esserci uno stacco dalle precedenti due tracce: assai più ricercata a livello melodico, molto più moderna nei suoni, che sembrano tuttavia ammiccare anzichè all'ambito estremo, all'heavy metal classico. Infine, il comparto solista si rivela sempre estremamente azzeccata, cosa assai rara nel black. Dicevo a inizio recensione che il disco va crescendo, lo certifica la quarta song, "Salvifici Doloris", che ci consegna una band totalmente rigenerata che si muove tra estremismi black punk e una forte architettura classic, non disdegnando qualche facile paragone con i polacchi Mgła, in una lunga e sporca cavalcata dinamitarda. L'ultima "Atonement" ci trascina nelle viscere della terra in un maestoso e deprimente pezzo black doom, forte di rallentamenti da paura, chitarre sghembe, vocals ferine e accelerazioni post black, che la eleggono di diritto mio brano preferito di questa 'Via Dolorosa'. Un disco che nella sua rapida progressione, ha eliminato le ruggini ereditate dal più lacerante debut album lanciandosi alla grande in un black moderno dalle tinte progressive. Sarà interessante seguirli per capire come evolverà il loro sound in un prossimo lavoro. Un plauso alla fine all'ottima attività di scouting della I, Voidhanger, sempre sul pezzo nello scovare nell'underground ottime band. (Francesco Scarci)

(I, Voidhanger Records - 2018)
Voto: 75

https://deitus.bandcamp.com/album/via-dolorosa

Moss Upon the Skull - In Vengeful Reverence

#FOR FANS OF: Prog Death, Gorguts

The way a band presents itself can sometimes be a perfect prelude for how it will sound. Inky details across a blank canvass show Belgium's Moss Upon the Skull as a band elaborating on a sound as filled in by the noise of generations as it is emblazoning itself on a new fiber. Moss Upon the Skull does its death metal well, not brilliantly with the frills that many a band may use to seem out of the norm and stretch its streaks across the death metal soundscape, but this band brings more a methodical and appropriately concocted conclusion able to burn slower and baste in its ideas. Smooth brilliance striped through simple motions make for calligraphy upon this tapestry of guitars that is seldom seen in a world of jagged edges and sharp poignant pieces. This band's jazz is as potent as its catastrophe and both work beautifully, intermixing each to form a disillusioning and disorienting world as seen through lucid eyes the burdens of horrific fate.

Technical, intricate, and intoxicating in its disorientation, Moss Upon the Skull festers and grows as harmonic leads are entangled and choked by an imposition of malignant bass, contorting each pleasant moment into an impending horror. Relentless rhythmic interchanges and an everflowing river of creativity ensure a consistent tension accompanies this bewildering Lethean journey as progressions meet ruination, animation is governed by decay, and each new structure builds off the last while simultaneously denoting the large swaths of time that elegantly acknowledge crumbling old pillars and the rises of new monuments sprouting up like mushrooms on the rotting carcasses of fallen giants. True to its name and album title, Moss Upon the Skull shows in its genetic coding the filth of the past generations of the metal milieu, playing 'In Vengeful Reverence' many terrifying twists on the harmonies of old to shore up a new technical monument to the past decades of abnormal progress.

Gritty and chewy guitars in “Disintegrated” masticate a rhythm, like a toothless hunger gumming down on a steak with sinew slowly dissolving in a wave of saliva, each enzyme breaking down molecules and reconstituting them in squalid squelching strings. However, that gushing sound is not an uncommon rejoinder to these unusual structures but a consistent foil to the burgeoning beauty behind these laborious deconstructions. Compelling harmonies and riffing in “Impending Evil”, searing guitar chords with prickly sprays of black metal sleet employed in an almost grunge fashion through “Lair of the Hypocrite” before a dingy disorienting harmonic breakdown, and, in an interlude as funky as it is contorted by the preeminence of evil in this band's sound, gorgeous riffing at the end of “Serving the Elite” show that these scraping riffs are the estuary from which spout intricate tributaries culminating in swamps of filth from elaborate contortions through rich mindful landscapes.

Unlikely to longingly linger on a nostalgic note or allow a breakdown to fester in its deterioration, the title track ensures that its fury retains an amorphous structure as it engineers a guitar bridge while under fire from volleys of blast beats. “In Vengeful Reverence” molds a monstrous amalgamation of prominent death metal structures while laying bare their bones as though witnessing the construction of Parisian catacombs. Throughout this album is an ever-focused timeless eye, one that utilizes its alchemy to piece together these contorted monuments and finally, by the time of reaching “Unseen, Yet Allseeing”, arrives with such fanfare akin to the metal standard that it sounds like a renaissance movement unearthed while exploring underground.

Homage finds itself imbued in the details among these intricate abnormalities. It comes through well in the end of “Peristalith” with the accursed Demilich round as it awkwardly walks through a storm of blast beating reminiscent of “The Echo”. This filthy and elaborate delivery expounds upon the technical squeals of a caged race enduring the bidding of its captors as songs flow with impressionistic fluidity underscoring the roles of numerous notes added to each flowing sound and the sharp grotesquerie of a structure when stripped down to its most basic components. Through a calculated mid-paced punch accentuated by a dragging lead guitar, “The Serpent Scepter” shows these swaths coming through in delirious distortions of chords and scrambles the harmony with scratchy technicality as it increases in intensity backed up by long drumming fills and crafty changeups. The anarchical desire to punch through these riffs with such funky drumming ensures that even the most rote moments of rise and drop smoothly worm their ways into impactful routines of technical exercise.

Gritty, cavernous, and intricate Moss Upon the Skull intermixes fierce technicality with gorgeous harmony to journey through its awkward and inverted 'In Vengeful Reverence'. Laying a groundwork of horror from which harmony must claw makes this inversion of every modern musical sensibility come through with elaborate and slyly perverse enjoyability. Esoteric curling harmonies and aggressive amorphous drumming show off a band unable to find contentment in sitting on a structure for too long while the decaying delay on the guitars works well to sharpen the impact of each note and also ensures a simultaneously dreary and dreamlike delivery. A flow that is as debilitating as the jarring madness of traversing the Leth river and humbling in its simultaneously haunting and enchanting, familiar and esoteric offerings, the cleanliness of the band's production compliments the relentless interchanges and ever-flowing creativity typifying an album that shows death metal remaining ripe in 2018. (Five_Nails)

(I, Voidhanger - 2018)
Score: 85

https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/in-vengeful-reverence

Tongues - Hreilia

#FOR FANS OF: Black/Death, Necrophobic

A special talent is needed just to play death metal, while talent, skills and technique to play good death metal; passion, intelligence and a singular taste for darkness are necessary to craft the black metal arts; elegance, melancholy and sophistication are essential to creating doom metal. However, to mix the three of them and succeed gloriously is a task just true legends have achieved. The trinity of extreme metal captured musically is not just ambitious, but arrogant, and if it fails, the fall is endless and terrible. Most bands that have tried this fusion haven’t overcome the expectations and demands of their own music. In my knowledge there is only one band that has risen over the corpses of the others and prevails to reclaim the throne of this unique combination, being this band the British monster Abyssal with three outstanding full-lengths in their repertory. But now, I’m pleased to say that there is another band rising to this moorland: Tongues.

'Hreilia' is the debut album of the Danish black/death/doom metal band Tongues. It opens with the subtle sound of the water reaching a shore, a shore filled with corpses depicting the splendid cover art, and then a guitar plays an enigmatic — almost cosmic — melody, slow drums in the background, a mysterious voice talks of forgotten ages, while the pace and melody evolves creating anxiety along with chants, suddenly it stops, a new guitar tune appears bringing with its speed, percussions become stronger, unexpected a horrific scream of a tormented soul burst into chaos. Blasting and magnanimous metal is presented to us in a rich, complex and strong combination of ideas, riffs and violence. Tongues plays its music with passion and strength, the compositions are compound and full of surprising changes, besides an atmosphere of evil and darkness is present all the time.

From the very beginning the album sounds like a classic, I can’t believe this full-length is released in 2017, it is out of this age, to me it is in the vein of legendary bands such as The Legion, Lord Belial or Necrophobic. The production and mastering sound like an album from the golden age of Swedish black/death metal. The second song, “Theophagous Wounds Of Earth”, starts with this bombastic bass line that inevitably reminded me of the forgotten mythical band Blot Mine and their first record 'Porphyrogenesis', sharing this kind of cosmic elements in the music with Tongues debut album and the solid presence of the bass guitar. This Danish band has not only accomplished mix the genres superbly but also has accomplished recreate the sound of the golden age of metal.

As aggressive as it can get, as violent or fast, 'Hreilia' is a pessimistic album, I wouldn’t call it melancholic or depressive because it is not, due to the nature of its music, it never gets lost in the melancholy of a passage or riff to lose its death metal core, it never slows down to sadness so much to lose its black metal touch and give way to a depressive structure. Meditation is suggested but barely present, contrary of a doom metal anthem. And this last line leads me to the music combination, and I have to say that black and death metal are the dominant forces of this band, doom metal is never in the lead, but always present, either in the guitar tuning or the slower moments, but never in the main path.

Tongues debut is impressive and crushing. One aspect I have to mention, is the outstanding vocal performance, it sounds so natural and faithful to the music that it seems to be another music element. The guitar work is glorious, and besides the three main genres this band claims to play, you can find trash metal and more classical metal influences in the form of guitar solos or catchy riffs.

The lyrics are dark and enigmatic; they talk of epic and cosmic tales. My favorite song of the album is “Grove Of Mithridate” which starts with an evil riff, almost psychedelic, it feels cursed and devastating at the same time, it has a tragic feeling that the music communicates perfectly, it’s aggressive and brutal, yet decaying and miserable. But the best song of the record is the longest as well: “Acumen Numinous” every good thing Tongues does in the previous songs is present here, but this song has a different structure and notorious progression, the guitar solo is superb and the drum performance is formidable. Close the half of the song we get this change of rhythm and a confusing guitar line resembling chaos — the end is near — and a colossal ambience is presented to us with solid guitars and chants in the background, is cosmic and delusional.

'Hreilia' is a mastodon of a debut, probably will become a classic in the future, and I can only wait to see what this band is going to release in the years to come. A must listen to fans of black metal, death metal and metalheads in general. (Alejandro 'Morgoth' Valenzuela)

(I, Voidhanger - 2017)
Score: 80

https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/hreilia

Tchornobog - S/t

#FOR FANS OF: Experimental Black/Death/Doom

Tchornobog is the one man project by Markov Soroka. If this name sounds familiar to you then you might have heard of his funeral doom metal band Slow and the atmospheric/ambient black metal project Aureole, both of them are a one-man band. I heard a lot about Tchornobog’s s/t album so I decided to check it out and see for myself what the fuss is all about. Unfortunately, after listening to the whole material, I wasn't impressed as what others had felt about this studio debut.

Released via Fallen Empire Records in Bandcamp for its digital format last July of 2017, Tchornobog's self-titled debut had impressed quite some audiences in the realm of black/death/doom metal. But after I examined the proposal, I found it non-distinctive and nothing special as what everyone was uttering about. While others praise the album because of its death-metal style guitars and blast beats, super flat and obscured thick production; I find the Tchornobog's music failing to achieve its ideal sound and failing to deliver memorable tunes.

Though I am not impressed about this self-titled release, there are a few elements here that I find satisfactory in some ways. The doomy section and desolate ambiance of the record are decent and it momentarily helps me to ignore the awfully monotonous riff structure. Perhaps if Markov had done more effort on the songwriting segment, the effects would have been more haunting and impossible to forget. The series of looping guitar patterns in this offering, is really weak in its character. It does not have that certain punch that will stick and catch you to get hook on the band's tunes.

There are a few bands in the extreme music genre that can convince their listeners even with a simple repetitive guitar pattern, given that the band had fabricated the guitar riffs to fit well with the style that they are playing. However, Tchornobog's experimental exploitation of multiple sub-genres of extreme music, does not go well with his insufficient effort to write noteworthy guitar riffs. Some listeners are convinced and satisfied with Markov's repetitive guitars because it is reinforced with a bleak and dingy atmosphere. I, on the other hand, do not find that compelling.

Another thing that some people dig about this release, but I find not that impressing, is the pummeling death metal style blasting of the drumming department. There is really nothing exceptional about that part, as it is pretty much just a barrage of machine-like hammering followed by a few pats of toms and cymbals which at times is deceitful enough to win over some audiences’ attention. Even the dark and cryptic overall mood of the record could not save the album from its conspicuous drawbacks.

I know that some fans believed that Tchornobog's otherworldly and deranged atmosphere had rescued this album from falling into the depths of mediocrity, but it most certainly did not. Yes, the mood of the material could have totally made this offering more entertaining if only Soroka had prioritized his songwriting when he was still working on the songs in this debut. I am not saying that I will totally turn my back on this band after this awful release. Tchornobog has that potential that only needs developing. For all we know, Markov had already learned through the drawbacks of this album right at this moment and is ready to put up a more decent piece in the coming future. (Felix Sale)

(Fallen Empire Records/I, Voidhanger - 2017)
Score: 45

https://markovsoroka.bandcamp.com/album/tchornobog

Sheidim - Infamata

#FOR FANS OF: Black/Death

To those of you who haven't heard of Sheidim yet, they are a black/death metal quartet hailing from Barcelona, Spain. The band had been around since 2013, and they released their first vinyl format EP last 2015 which holds two unrefined and fierce tracks. Just last 2016, the band had put out their debut studio album under the banner of Dark Descent Records. The debut was named 'Shrines of the Void', and that album showed to the extreme metal community the excellent songwriting talent of these Iberian horde. This time around, just last September 2017, the band once again strike with a new offering called 'Infamata'.

It is quite remarkable to come across such an even-handed and well-rounded fusion of two sub-genres of extreme metal in a release. 'Infamata' is one that belongs to these extraordinary few. This EP from Sheidim was molded by the band to create a bloody profound and pristine experience for its listeners. And they sure had found success in that matter, because 'Infamata' showcases a solid synthesis that recalls the best indications of both speed-oriented black metal and death metal.

Every track on this EP was built in an admirable manner. Each of them offers a really entertaining and catchy ethos. Songs like "A Dying Sun" and "Underneath" hit the audiences incredibly hard with its fast and utterly aggressive death metal nature, topped with a very cold and evil atmosphere. Following those two mentioned tracks are "Wings of the Reaper" and "Sisters of Sleep", which have a really dark aura. The ambiance of those said tunes brings forth a very wicked black metal feel in the background.

All the songs here included also have that evident early Bathory riffing on the guitar section. Outside the Bathory-like guitars, we can also hear different guitar riffage delivered by C.S. which varies from classic rock 'n roll to vintage thrash riffing. I am awed by how quite amazing C.S. was able to apply all those guitar segments without dragging down that strong black metal mood of the songs. The tremolo riffs present here are also impressive. They show an absurd intensity even with their more melodic character. The tremolos sound incredibly aggressive, and even more foul than what you could expect that a black/death metal band would come up.

Alejandro Tedín's bass is perceptible but it maintains composure with the rest of the instruments and does well to complement the music in the album. That audible presence of the bass also adds an extra layer beneath the songs. Considering this is still in theory under the black metal flag, I would give my compliments to the band for having a surprisingly audible bass guitar line. Jordi Farré's drum work pounds away with furious blast beats, creating a menacing flavor to the offering. Jordi's drumming may not be that exceedingly decorative, but the guy sure knows exactly what he should be playing during each section to maintain the intended maniacal atmosphere in the record.

A.K., the band's frontman, sputters harsh screams and growls that sound like they came from Satan himself. His style, which is somewhere between a roar and a snarl, builds an intensely raw and powerful reinforcement to the tracks in the album. I really dig A.K.'s vocal approach because it is not muffled with effects. The EP's production is also quite solid for an underground extreme metal release. It's really refreshing to me, as I usually enjoy listening to those dreadfully produced basement-type demos and EPs when it comes to extreme music.

Well, there you have it fellas. 'Infamata' is a release that definitely has some special offerings for Sheidim's listeners. The violence on this record is pure and intact, and the entire iniquitous concept of black metal and death metal is in full form on this one. I suggest fans of both black and death metal to get a copy of this record. It's really worth the money, and it deserves a place in your metal collection. (Felix Sale)

(I, Voidhanger - 2017)
Score: 75

https://sheidim.bandcamp.com/album/infamata

Divine Element - Thaurachs of Borsu

#FOR FANS OF: Death/Black Epic, Amon Amarth, Primordial

To style Divine Element as an Amon Amarth clone would be an uneducated attempt to compliment two exceptional musicians. Playing a powerful and fiery form of melodic death/black metal, this Hellenic pair plays closely to Amon Amarth's nearly unrivaled glory while finding its own glory in a unique realm of kingdoms and chaos. A concept album that serves as a companion piece to founding member Ayloss' upcoming novel of the same name, 'Thaurachs of Borsu' is the tale of one warrior's destiny wrapped in the fate of his warlike nation. Together they take on the challenge of overcoming an immensely powerful usurpation of their ancestral homeland while the protagonist confronts cosmic questions and tests of his loyalties in this unforgiving world.

Combining Amon Amarth power with Primordial atmosphere in the opening instrumental, “A Realignment With Destiny” and using moments of narration that make even The Meads of Asphodel seem completely cheese-less, Divine Element explores its broad concepts through a mixture of folk sound and chest-beating battle riffs in this invigorating half hour. Bookended by interludes and featuring an instrumental in the midpoint of this album, the meat of this release is five unique tracks that explore the human spirit, proclivities for tribalism and notions of power, and embark on a journey of blood and battle that rages across the sea to brutally conquer a capitol. Incredibly uplifting tremolo riffs ride galloping drums to create a purposeful and compelling atmosphere in the money track “On the Trail of Betrayal”, like a vicious woodland hunt chasing a cunning foe. Where Amon Amarth faced a desperate and solemn ride against time in “Hermod's Ride To Hel”, Divine Element charges down the winding path slaughtering all in its way with the satisfaction that the cavalry can overcome any foes in the dense growth. The lyrics call for an examination of one's loyalties and just what hill is worth holding, questioning what influences and justifications one has in order to fight against or to accept a societal norm. Wrestling with whether to pursue a path that destroys others over “kin, kingdom, caste, and belief” or to “aim towards the noble idea, the Wholeness” of a unification strengthened by all its parts rather than a victor stood atop the ashes of his foes, Divine Element chooses to fight for the light and cleanse obscurity. Enlisting the drumming of Hans Grossman, the blaster in Necrophagist's “Epitaph”, “Call of the Blade” brings that cleansing fury to life, causing carnage and calamity on the road to reconquer the lost lands.

Unlike the failed experiment, Canada's Deity that came out nearly a week after this full-length, this other little known band featuring an established death metal drummer is a stellar example of immersive storytelling through aggressive music. 'Thaurachs of Borsu' is a well-rounded concept album with some incredible moments that is worth a listen from Amon Amarth, death metal, and black metal fans alike. Reaching for its destiny, traveling “Beyond the Sea”, and vanquishing as it marches, Divine Element builds an intricate world around this album and on the page to present an engaging narrative. (Five_Nails)

(I,Voidhanger - 2017)
Score: 80

https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/thaurachs-of-borsu

Nephilim's Howl - Through the Marrow of Human Suffering

#FOR FANS OF: Black Doom, Gorgoroth

In a very professional sounding debut, Finland's Nephilim's Howl lulls you with the sanctuary of its doom metal segments early on just to shatter them with some cataclysmic black metal drenched in Gorgoroth's glaze. 'Through the Marrow of Human Suffering' captures the black metal stalwarts' iconic atmosphere to a tee and refuses to relinquish it as the band revels in the apocalyptic wake.

Gorgoroth worship is most apparent in the rhythm and quivering guitar riffs that resolve themselves in shattering shambling tones throughout “Of Ordeals and Triumph”. Stripping down the driving four thump of “Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt”, the overtones relish their evil aesthetic while clouds of corrupted blues beat bars of agony like nails into your brain. As though reading proclamations of evil from the book of the Antichrist, the vocals are delivered in the expressively authoritative stanzas that Pest offered but with a more open throat that leaves me thinking of Gaahl. The ten minute “Hate Revelations” is the first instance of the driving pace finally escaping doom and reaching its apogee as signature black metal blasts sear the guitars into your memory. The unrestrained explosion immediately quells any sinking feeling that there won't be any barrage to batter you down like Gorgoroth so acutely satisfies its audience with. The audacity of going nearly twenty minutes without such a payoff is enough to mismark this band as a group of pretenders. Yet when Nephilim's Howl finally delivers the impending cataclysmic crush that has been building for what feels a century of torturously slow torment, the terse torrent finally rains the blood necessary to fuel such a thirsty metal machine.

'Through the Marrow of Human Suffering' is an interesting album that seems like it would not work on paper. The deceptively slow and entrancing doom elements ensure the raw black metal aesthetic hypnotizes you and drags you deep into a frigid dungeon in order to begin the slaughter. Like an angler fish's lure in the abyss, you will not notice that the teeth are closing in until it's too late. (Five_Nails)

(I, Voidhanger Records - 2017)
Score: 80

https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/through-the-marrow-of-human-suffering

Mare Cognitum - Luminiferous Aether

#FOR FANS OF: Progressive Black Metal, Darkspace

Interesting old album this one. I want to like it, and I kinda do but it's just a bit headache inducing. Perhaps one of those releases where you find the concept/general idea really good, but the execution leaves you wanting.

The most obvious description with 'Luminiferous Aether' is a hi-fi, somewhat maximalist Darkspace. Whereas those swiss guys do a fantastic job conjuring up a cold, lifeless universe populated sparsely by primal, unyielding alien evil, Mare Cognitum basically get something closer to a darker Mass Effect universe. Somewhat grim still, but here the nebulae are in that blazing false colour we're used to, the explosions are bright yellow, and the sound effects are physics defyingly-loud and vibrant.

I have no problem with this- I'm a cheerful guy myself and am perfectly happy to lose myself in a musical version of a jam packed space opera. The main problem is basically that there's not enough dynamics, and there's not enough riffs.
They're pretty intertwined problems, I think. There's enough bands that stay in a forteissmo dynamic for 70 minutes straight and pull it off because good riffs flow from one to the next- things build, despite staying fully loud the whole time. That doesn't really happen here; most of the songs have very promising sections but then there's a tendency to wander off into aimless blasting where nothing much happens, where nothing much progresses. Call it New-Metallica syndrome if you want; you get the feeling that you could cut 25% of each song quite comfortably.

Things just float on in these overtly layered tunes until the songs end. I found myself drifting in and out of focused listening fairly often with this- there's just not enough to grab your attention for the whole album. I reckon a few parts like the album intro would've been a good addition. Mellow parts, when done properly don't have to be soppy or an Opethian exercise in song lengthening; they can make the songs flow better and establish new moods, they can draw a listener's attention back to the song. I'd refer to Spectral Lore's mind boggling 'III', an album of similar ambition and scope, but one that use dynamics one hell of a lot better.

I know I've whinged about this album for much of the review - but honestly I don't hate it or anything. You flick to any particular part of it and for a few minutes you'll be all "jeez, this is pretty cool" as your mind imagines some super futuristic space battles with all sort of mind blowing, space-time shattering weaponry. Problem is a few minutes later you'll likely be absentmindedly checking your email. Worth a look if you're into big, spacey BM - you may well like it more than me. Personally I think I'll stick with Darkspace. (Caspian Yurisich)

(I, Voidhanger Records - 2016)
Score: 55

https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/luminiferous-aether