Metal to Go: Under/Current (May 2020)

Welcome back to our new monthly segment, Under/Current. Here we will cover the music we currently find inspirational, the music we look forward to in the near future, and what we are currently listening to.

J.C.L:

Currently Inspirational:

Siaskel - Xo'on Hauk Sho'on

It’s rare that I get to recommend metal from Chile. Even rarer is it the band that partly uses a pre-columbian language to speak of mythology and rituals, and yet still manages to sound competently menacing. Siaskel proves that they are among a rare breed, and if there was a band there was criminally unknown... they definitely deserve to leave such obscurity. This album is barely a year old, and I’m surprised to not have heard of it until last week. Comes highly recommended to fans of Sinmara, Svartidaudi and Belphegor.

Void Prayer - L'appel du Vide

It is good to see more black metal coming from the Balkans, and there has been some good records coming from Serbia and Bulgaria over the last year. Recently I was introduced to Void Prayer from Bosnia, who are part of a small black metal circle there. Normally I tend to give demos a skip in favor of more full-bodied material, but “L’appel du Vide” has made me re-evaluate that policy. The high-pitched hanging notes from the lead guitar and grim unhinged vocals are the highlight of “L’appel du Vide”’s 3 tracks. An atmosphere so saturated with despair and desperation it will leave you questioning your own mental stability afterwards. 

Árstíðir lífsins - Saga á tveim tungum II: Eigi fjǫll né firðir

This album dropped a few days ago, and there is one word that already sums up this album: Epic!

It's second part of a greater saga, the first being released last year. and I'm now hoping for a third part. If you have any interest in viking and/or pagan black, you'd be very entertained by this album, it's got something for almost everyone: quiet ambient sections, strings, deep viking choir-like vocals, hardhitting drums and melodic guitars...

Currently looking forward to:

Nexion - Seven Oracles

Good news from Iceland: Nexion is set to release their debut full-length "Seven Oracles" the 20th of June. Already they have interested me with their self-titled EP from 2017 and their new single is even more promising, giving us 6 minutes of uncompromising blackened death metal. If I were a fan of a certain Polish Black/death band, I'd be watching Nexion more closely, instead of listening to whatever they are doing now...

Listened to this week:

Horn - Mohngang

I’ve been following Horn on/off since “Feldpost”, and with an album and EP more to their name (neither of which really caught on with me), Horn decided to grace the world with “Mohngang”. On first listen it seems like a return to the pagan black roots, which made me like "Feldpost" as much as I did. For the uninitiated, fans of Vreid and Windir might find Horn at least as interesting, and I can only encourage you to give "Mohngang" a spin.

Gruzja - Jeszcze Nie Mamy Na Was Pomyslu

I don’t know what they put in the water in Poland, but I want a taste of it. Besides the big older names, there is a newer class of dirty, gritty urban working class black metal coming from there. You might already know Mgła and Kriegsmaschine, but names like Biesy, Furia, Odraza, Outre and Gruzja should definitely be on your mind too. Gruzja released this weird concoction last October, with a sound that’s somewhere between Cathedral and Dødheimsgaard if the both went on a week long acid-trip together, with hints of post-punk (Especially on "Grues"). A one-of-a-kind experience.

Odraza - Rzeczom

Speaking of polish black metal, Odraza is back (You remember the Moobs, don’t you?) with a new album. This time, I would describe the sound as leaning closer to fellow countrymen Mgła, the third track in particular. However, there is still a lot of tracks in the vein of their first album, as well as the more "odd" tracks. Truth be told, I don't really know what to think of "Rzeczom" on the whole as of yet. It might grow on me, or it might not. Listen to it yourself, and make up your mind.

X.K.

Currently Inspirational:

Elffor - Unholy Throne of Doom

Thanks to Black Metal Promotion, I got a taste of this unholy throne of doom, and boy, was it worth the many hours I have listened to this already. There is little I can add to the review we wrote a few days ago, Check this album out if you haven’t already, and give it the time it deserves. I would only recommend for you to do the same.

Currently looking forward to:

Dominion of Suffering - The Birth of Hateful Existence

A highly expected debut album is to be released very soon by, Slovakia’s death and black metal devotees. Head jerking, blasting, very central European influenced sound, giving the drums some highly noticeable spots on the record, that hits it off with the underground vibrations in the vocals that also presents deeply depressive elements. The mixture between black and death on every track is what makes this release outstanding.

Serment - Chante, Ô Flamme de la Liberté

Here we have an absolute treasure when talking about atmospheric metal. Serment is a new project by Moribond (Forteresse), where he takes us on a concept journey telling the story of a pact with the devil and the quest for a lost heritage in Québec’s cold forests. This project provides us with a more atmospheric and symphonic noise than Forteresse usually does, and it has certainly topped my top 10’s for 2020 already.

Misanthropic Rituals - A Path Through Absent Places

Three years ago, one man project Misanthropic Rituals by the New Jersey based Andrew Bono really came through with his debut album which fell right into my liking. The mix is between a heavy doomish sound and the symphonic, while he manages to bring out  dark elements in the vocals. It's not the most musically I've heard but it fits in really well with the days when everything doesn't have to be complicated. The second album is on its way and with the single ‘Beset with Shroud of Pitch’ already out, I look forward to the rest.

Listened to this week:

Mareridt - Med Vold Skal Verden Bygges

Lately, Mareridt dug into the stores, too, so I was inspired to do the same, which ended up in actually being my first time fully listening to this 1999 EP. I wouldn't say it blew me away but I was great to dig into some older Danish metal. Eventually the core of this project became Horned Almighty, and they have already done good for themselves this year with their newest record To Fathom the Master's Grand Design.

Elderwind - The Magic of Nature

Elderwind has for many years been my go-to when it comes to music. Nothing is like listening to this album over and over again, it just gets better every time. I have really been looking forward to my travel to Russia this summer to experience this project live for the first time, and if this world situation let me, I will for sure make my way there. This record gives me joy, hope and just overall positivity in my life like no other record, if you haven't heard it you must do so.