Katavasia - Sacrilegious Testament

| LABEL |

Floga Records

| AVDIO |

Bandcamp

| Melodic Black Metal | Greek BM with a strong pagan feeling both in the atmosphere and the melodies.

The whole album is very well played without getting into some jacking of the guitar battle. It is straight forward as a longsword but with a beautifully crafted handle. Maybe a little dull, but it can still split a skull or two. The melodies has a pagan sound to them that speaks to my primal brain with delight, together with a classic heavy metal sound, so no ear bleeding distortion Im afraid. 

The songs are laid out simple with a song structure that are easy to enjoy, even it the aftertaste leaves you kind of bland. But it is good as long as it lasts, it has some interesting pieces with flute that plays an harmonic melody in the background and guitars that almost goes to the AOR genre, ohhh, did I fucking say that?

As I said earlier is the production of the more cleaner sort with a nineties sound to it. You hear every layer on the album perfectly, the violins, ceremonial drums and words of carnation. The atmosphere on the other hand as you probably guessed it is the one that suffers from it. The album really don't say anything, its pretty forgettable, even dough I fucking like it when I listen to it, but as soon as I turn it of, it is all forgotten like a pile of ash in the wind. Something is missing simply. I hope they figure out what is missing for the next album. 

| EXECVTION	| 85	| COMPOSITION	| 75 |
| INNOVATION	| 70	| PRODVCTION	| 65 |

| GRADE | 74 |

Begrime Exemious - Begrime Exemious / Flash Out

| LABEL |

Filth Regime Records

| AVDIO |

Bandcamp

| Black/Death Metal/Crust | TRAILING fucking dirty BM with the right attitude and with a sickening darkness.

Begrime Exemious begins with its lead heavy interpretations that rides on the loose flapping base in all the songs. It's catchy as hell, a total discharge of emotions. It rumbles like doomsday is near, and the singer messes with his persuasive voice that the end is near. And I enjoy it along my entire bony spine of pleasure and ungodly terror.

The next half is dedicated to Flash Out which plays a mix of Death Metal, Crust, Grindcore to name a few. It's bluster, madness and total fucking war in every song. It's fast and deafening like a cannon on speed. It is as crazy as a sergeant possessed of a thousand spirits of dead soldiers. It's a damn nice experience, which unfortunately is over way too fast!

| EXECVTION	| 82	| COMPOSITION	| 80 |
| INNOVATION	| 85	| PRODVCTION	| 88 |

| GRADE | 84 |

Lunar Mantra - Genesis

| LABEL |

- | AVDIO |

Bandcamp

| Black Metal | Awake the dragon inside you with the arcane piece Genesis. It takes you to untrodden paths, far beyond you psychical mind.

All the songs on the disc are constructed as classical music, they're downright symphonic, without using such nonsense as synths or other cheating devises. In order to accomplish this feat requires almost a genius, or someone that reincarnate carnal knowledge.  They manage to create such a massive space in their music, it's like one moves weightlessly through blind corridors on a astral plane. 

Everything is extremely well recorded to the smallest detail, every single chord sounds like the strings of a doomsday orchestra aimlessly riding in chaos. The atmosphere is always present, it's like you constantly have a creature breathing down your neck, and your body is filled with a devouring void, wanting only more, and more!!!

The album has a lot of ritualistic aspects with the chanting tones, voices  and structure. But it is also a journey through the unknown darkness. It really takes you to other places, far beyond, you see things foul and disgusting. It all comes together in a creation that is both deafening beautiful, terrifying and otherworldly. 

| EXECVTION	| 87	| COMPOSITION	| 91 |
| INNOVATION	| 90	| PRODVCTION	| 86 |

| GRADE | 89 |

Chalice of Blood - Helig, Helig, Helig

| LABEL |

Daemon Worship Productions

| AVDIO |

Bandcamp

| Black Metal | With a superior will and inspiration from the black arts has Chalice of Blood created a EP that is highly divine!

The whole work is rendered with an infernal strength. Each instrument is part of a condemned army marching forward into the eternal darkness. The guitars play magical arrangements with fast melodies that rips like a ceremonial  dagger.  The bass is like a black fog surrounding everything i mysticism. And the drums chop and rips like a poisonous snake. Together they form a divinely dark and beautiful symbiosis.

The song Structure is like an obscure temple. It is both majestic in its own way, while it is constructed of simple earthly means. It's very bare to the surface, but on the inside, its totally wildness and chaos. The album feels alive, as if it is a own creature, an uncontrollable beast from a place far away from where we live.

The production leaves room for each instrument, and let them speak for themselves, while it all takes place in a large echoing void. Another masterful album from Sweden who end up in the same league as other bands like Ofermord and Ondskapt.

| EXECVTION	| 88	| COMPOSITION	| 91 |
| INNOVATION	| 87	| PRODVCTION	| 86 |

| GRADE | 88 |

Alien Deviant Circus - Ananta Abhâva

| LABEL |

Necrocosm

| AVDIO |

Bandcamp

| Industrial Black Metal | Hypnotizing BM with a occult robotic touch together with a horrible inhuman atmosphere in a twisted digital format

Industrial BM may be a bit trite, but it's still something I can not get enough of. I devour everything in my path, and this opus I swallow with relish. It's a very radical production that allows the mechanical speak. You could call it an inorganic creation that is strange, like it comes from another dimension inhabited by terrible beings. 

The guitars have an almost mechanical sound to them, like large industrial pistons that pumps a heavy satanic machine. The bass smolders in the background like an old generator. And the drum beats with an inhuman precision, and a ritualistic rate as a good drum machine should.

The composition is pretty straight forward, without any extravagant drug induced madness ala Black Lodge.  Its pretty simple without taking any risks, but it fits the music well, it becomes kind of robotic and hypnotizing after a while. It processes the brain in an occult way together with the luciferian theme of the album. 

| EXECVTION	| 79	| COMPOSITION	| 77 |
| INNOVATION	| 83	| PRODVCTION	| 82 |

| GRADE | 80 |

Israthoum / Chalice of Blood / Monte Penumbra / Half Visible Presence

| Ascetic Temples / Sacrament of Death / Downwards Deathmarch / One Is the Alignment of Shrines |
| LABEL | S.A.R.S. Productions | AVDIO | Bandcamp |

| Black Metal | A split that contains four  fascinating songs that takes you to cold caverns, blood dripping alters and the flaming pits of hell.

The fist track is the eminent band Israthoum contribution Ascetic Temple, which is a powerful song straight through. It has a huge coldness and strong will to it, but at the same time as barren as a mountain. The entire song exudes pure darkness.

Then we come to the second track, and the high point of the album, Chalice of Blood's Sacrament of Death. It's like the song has a life of its own. Chaos reigns with amazing blazing riffs, sharp as thousand knifes, a majestic underground production, and a maddening possessed voice . A primordial force that can not be stopped by any means!!!

Then we come to Half Visible Presence's song Downwards Deathmarch which is also the faintest song on the disc, but it is not bad in any way. It is a slow song with raspy vocals and guitars that sound like a dull knife against a stone. Pain and suffering for a higher cause. 

Monte Penumbra ends the disc with divinely dark and epic song One Is the Alignment of Shrines. It is an grand bombastic piece with suggestive tones. It wanders farther and farther down into the uncharted abyss. A perfect end to the split that takes you from cold caverns, blood dripping alters and the flaming pits of hell.

| EXECVTION   | 81 | COMPOSITION | 77 | 

| INNOVATION | 79  | PRODVCTION  | 80 |

| GRADE | 79

Vargsang - In the Mist of Night

| LABEL |

Obscure Abhorrence Productions

| AVDIO |

Bandcamp

| Black Metal | Vargsang is like an old institution, they deliver above average BM as a reliable as a clock. You always know what you get, and you will never be disappointed. 

The album delivers classical BM with all the bells and whistles that we have come to enjoy. The gritty guitar distortion, little bass and the more treble. Slow- to mid-tempo drum. That ugly and terrible, but so fitting voice. And to top it all of with some simple eerie keyboards in the background for atmosphere (Totally unnecessary if you ask me). 

The song structure is nothing new here, it is almost the same formula since the second wave BM. There are a number of songs that delivers pure BM as it should sound, without complicating it to much. It is just music that you know from the deep within that you appreciate.

It is all presented in a primitive lo-fi production as it should be. And that's what makes up most of the atmosphere and feeling of the album, the rawness, the simplicity and the primitive. You don't always have to invent the wheel over and over. Just listen to this album instead!!!

| EXECVTION	| 75	| COMPOSITION	| 73 |
| INNOVATION	| --	| PRODVCTION	| 82 |

| GRADE | 77 |

28. Sedna - Sedna

LABEL
Drown Within Records
AVDIO
Bandcamp
GRADE
91%

Black/Sludge Metal. The band plays an excellent mix of BM and sludge that is mind-blowing. They create divine acoustic passages that slowly builds up to an impressive scene filled with chaos and suggestive narrative melodic undertones. The album has darkness with its granite heavy riffs. And light with the burning melodies that lights up the way throuh the album like torches. And in this beautiful weird void we find the immersive chantings from another plane, that together brings it all to another dimension. 

Sedna will transport you to another world, far beyond the stars and this reality. To a terrible, but yet so beautiful place, where chaos roams free and wild. Follow Sedna on their mysterious journey through dark passages, epic ancient wonders and barren wastelands. 

26. Lebensnacht - Uudelleensyntynyt ikuiseen pimeyteen

LABEL
Naturmacht Productions
AVDIO
Bandcamp
GRADE
70%

Black Metal. Today we are offering the third album from the German one man band Lebensnacht, and with quite mixed emotions. He (Robert Brockmann) plays a kind of primitive BM with some ambient elements. It has an rough distortion and a minimalistic production to it. The album are played in classic mid-tempo with grinding guitars and some small simple keyboard arrangements to enhance the atmosphere.

The album starts of with the extremely Burzum odorous track Blutmeer that gets the highest point in my book, and my hope is set real high. But they don't deliver any more songs on the album that even get close to the feeling of that particular track, it is almost down hill with some highlights here and there. But just for that bloody song is this record wort a listening or two. Maybe you will appreciate the album more than me. 

24. Atrum Tempestas - Néant

LABEL
Nordavind Records
AVDIO
Bandcamp
GRADE
74%

Atmospheric Black Metal. Imagine your self a cold winters day, when you feel that all hope is lost. Every road is covered with snow and you feel more lost than ever. This record is all about that. It is slow, depressing and melancholic. It grinds slowly on as you travel along unclimbed paths of your inner-self as it slowly builds up an  fog-like atmosphere that surrounds every instrument. It has some great melodic guitar riffs that sets the tone, and drums that are perfect for wandering through the snow. To bad the album don't really hold up til the last track however, and the best track is still the first one.

23. Horncrowned - Defanatus (Diabolus Adventus)

LABEL
Ketzer Records
AVDIO
Bandcamp
GRADE
72%

Black Metal. Here we have a record that is fast, malicious and rabid like a possessed whore. Its like an tank driven by an rabies infected terrorist with spine fluid running down his back. Yeah you get the picture, you are going to get run over real fast and brutally. The riffs are fast, but not so innovative and mood setting. Fast blastbeating drums that just mangles on like a bomb factory in the second world war. The production is kind of clean with some gritty elements. So take the record for what it is, its something that is easy to putt on and listen to, even if there isn't much else after that. 

21. Obsessör - Assassins of the Pentagram

LABEL
Evil Spell Records
AVDIO
Soundcloud
GRADE
89%

Black/Thrash Metal. Are you ready for some real old school thrash metal, from the times when thrash metal were thrash metal and not just some bleak melodic death metal shit that they call thrash today. This album is down to the roots with influences from the early German scene. It is fast, mean and don't take any compromises. It is war, Satan and blasphemy just as it should be. They deliver an intense and genuine experience with fast solos, high pitched screams and energetic drums that makes my whole body go spastic. All this together with hints of early BM and you have an album that is simple, raw and evil. 

19. Misericordia - Throne of Existence

LABEL
Deepsend Records
AVDIO
Bandcamp
GRADE
76%

Black Metal. I get this late nineties melodic black metal, when the scene were overflowed with these bands from this record. It has good musicianship and awesome riffs and ideas, its just the atmosphere that is absent. Or it has an kind of atmosphere, but it doesn't feel that genuine, more like a product of the time. Don't get me wrong, it is absolutely not a bad record, it has some great songs that are both interesting and shows of some great skills, wonderful guitar riffs hear and there, blast beats and a voice that reminds me of Emperor Magus Caligula. So if you want a trip down memory lane, but new produced, than you can't go wrong hear. 

18. Lurking Evil - The Almighty Hordes of the Undead

LABEL
Razorback Recordings
AVDIO
Bandcamp
GRADE
92%

Black/Thrash Metal. Are you a hellish rock'n'roll freak, with a fixation for death? Then your in for a proper kick in your nuts with this vile release. I get shivers down my spine when I'm listening to this bloody awesome record. Its near fucking perfect with the sharp grinding thrash metal riffs, the darkness and obscurity from BM, together with a fuck you up the rotten ass punk attitude. The result is a solid record with a grim old school feeling that goes on repeat on my stereo. It will appeal to both fans of old school stuff like Hellhammer and Venom, as well fan of newer stuff in the genre like Die Hard and Midnight. A must for those that enjoy their metal true old school and don't like any frills and other unnecessary shit, and just want something that speaks to the primal brain, something instinctively.

16. Infestum - Monuments of Exalted

LABEL
Lacerated Enemy records
AVDIO
Bandcamp
GRADE
70%

Black Metal. This album contains: fast furious riffs that tears like sharp knife through your eardrum. Blasting hellish drums that will pulverize your brain into dust. Experimental digital synthesizers that ads an extra dimension to the opus. A crystal clear production that sometime tends to a being a bit plastic. If you want something that is easy to just pick up and listen to, then this is your album. All in all, its a good record, even if it lakes some substance. 

15. Kafirun - Death Worship

LABEL
-
AVDIO
Bandcamp
GRADE
94%

Black Metal. Ohh were do I begin with this masterful demo from Canada. I'll start with howling everything this release contains. An dark mystical atmosphere that lays on everything like a thick alter cloth. Haunting chantings that creeps beneath your skin. Morbid twisted screams that would freeze any angels heart in fear. Guitars that cut through bone and marrow. Ritualistic drums that raises the hellfires to the heavens. The Demo has every essential component, and its all done in such a dreadfully pleasant way. I Get the same feeling as when I heard De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas for the first time. It is absolutely something special. I'm strongly looking forward what the future hold for this band. 

14. Darkspace - Dark Space III I

LABEL
Avantgarde Music
AVDIO
Bandcamp
GRADE
81%

Atmospheric Black Metal. Today's review is about the fourth album from the Swiss trio Darkspace. It continues of course the journey into dark mystical space that began on the first release. It is an pitch black vogue through time and space, with dark matter devouring every glimpse of light that this album continue with. It has an very thick horrendous atmosphere around itself that conveys the feeling of loneliness and despair that only a passage through a black hole cane bring forth.

10. Sxuperion - Through Cosmic Corridors

LABEL
Bloody Mountain Records
AVDIO
Bandcamp
GRADE
89%

Death/Black Metal. They say no one can hear you scream in space, but what you could hear in your mind is a other thing. This record is probably the closest you could get to the sounds and atmosphere in your mind as you pass through cosmic voids, wormholes and interstellar travels until your inevitable doom and enlighten. The album is filled with gloomy space effects and ambiance, all covered in a doom metal veil. It succeeds well to bring forth the feeling of the pitch black emptiness of space.

9. Zaklon - Nikoli...

LABEL
Possession Productions
AVDIO
Bandcamp
GRADE
83%

Black Metal. If you you just scrape the surface could Nikoli appear to be just another of thousands of mediocre BM albums that have been released since the mid nighties. But so is not the case, it holds so much more in its dead nest. It has something unspeakable, I can't exactly point to what it is, in simple terms its just doing what millions of bands have done before, but this album speaks to me in a different kind of way. It goes straight in to my subconscious makes my whole body shiver in dark delight and transports me far away into the Belarus forests, where nature prevails. 

7. Midnight - No Mercy for Mayhem

LABEL
Hells Headbangers Records
AVDIO
MySpace
GRADE
91%

Black/Speed Metal. If you haven't heard this evil motherfucker from last year, you have probably lain in a coma beneath the bottom of the sea, course you can't miss this twisted fucker!!! Its fast, old school, catchy black n roll at its best. It takes a lot from old Venom with its catchy old school heavy metal riffs and attitude. Its an album that don't take any compromises, and don't give a fuck what have happened in the scene for at least 30 years something. It will run you over and rape you like a possessed bulldozer.