J.C.L.
Currently inspirational:
I admit I am late to the party on this album, originally released December last year, but oh man has it made an impact since. Conceived by Belgium-based Wolvennest, Temple channels an almost primordial and ancient energy through its brooding melodies and mystical rhythms. The truly dark, ethereal mood on this album is one of the most unique soundscapes captured, and lends itself extremely well to candlelight and forest walks, like a lovechild of bands like Urfaust, Dolch and Type O Negative. To Wolvennest, I salute you for this extraordinary album, and my apology for not including Temple in my 2020-list.
Fuoco Fatuo - Obsidian Katabasis
Italy has really surprised me lately, going (in my book) from making a lot of mediocre and maybe 2-3 interesting, if obscure, bands, to just exploding with talent in both death, black and doom metal. Bands like Ad Nauseam, Xeper, Drought, Idolatria and Forgotten Tomb have truly changed my perception, and now Fuoco Fatuo just further adds weight to the argument with Obsidian Katabasis. This is some seriously crushing funeral doom, both epic, ugly and utterly dark at the same time, and my words cannot prepare you for how massively heavy this album is. This is an easy pick for an entry on my Album-of-the-year list.
Stone Healer - Conquistador
Italy has really surprised me lately, going (in my book) from making a lot of mediocre and maybe 2-3 interesting, if obscure, bands, to just exploding with talent in both death, black and doom metal. Bands like Ad Nauseam, Xeper, Drought, Idolatria and Forgotten Tomb have truly changed my perception, and now Fuoco Fatuo just further adds weight to the argument with Obsidian Katabasis. This is some seriously crushing funeral doom, both epic, ugly and utterly dark at the same time, and my words cannot prepare you for how massively heavy this album is. This is an easy pick for an entry on my Album-of-the-year list.
Currently looking forward to:
This is a most unusual album by Americans Stone Healer, with some elements that usually don't go together, and by all accounts it should be a disaster, yet it isn't. It has some of the Gorguts' blasts and rhythms, Opeth's acoustic-prog-magic and just a hint of black metal, accompanied with mostly layered clean vocals or Chuck Schuldiner-style vocals, and it totally works, which is perhaps most surprising. Conquistador is this duo's debut full-length, which releases on the 30th of April, and whatever mad fountain these guys drank from, in my book they are doing something right. Progressive Black Metal indeed.
Molok - Skær
Out on the 30th of April is the third full album by Danish band Molok. This avant-garde project with roots in black metal is one that pushes boundaries, taking lyrical inspiration from social-realism and conforming to nothing. As such, it is completely up my alley, and even if I don’t completely understand the background or intent, I am guaranteed to have a great experience with odd time-signatures, jazzy inspirations and overall mad soundscape. Skær is the newest concoction from this group which releases from Virkelighedsfjern in a few days. Go get it if bands like Dødheimsgard, Virus and Gruzja mean anything to you!
Inferno - Paradeigma (Phosphenes of Aphotic Eternity)
Sometimes I am treated to some truly majestic and nightmarish metal, which I know will go on to do great things. This is very much true of Inferno’s upcoming album Paradeigma, which releases on the 7th of May. The surprise was for me when I learned that this Czech band has existed since 1995, and this is my first time hearing of them. I never would have guessed that, owing to the modern and cavernous sound prevalent on this album, which could have been mistaken for a modern Icelandic or US production. Not having checked their previous discography out, this still speaks volumes of a band that is willing to evolve and push the frontier.
Spire - Temple of Khronos
I remember Spire’s first album Entropy from 2016, which was quite impressive. Now I get to listen to these Australians outdo that with Temple of Khronos, an extremely well polished and composed album, which is a worthy successor to the debut. The album as a whole just feels bigger, everything is just polished a little bit more, without overdoing it and the band itself pushing what was already going for them; their progressive and innovative songwriting. The vocals especially deserves some spotlight as they are utilizing both harsh as well as clean vocals with great effect. Overall, this dark soundscape will be sure to haunt many listeners for years
Out on the 30th of April is the third full album by Danish band Molok. This avant-garde project with roots in black metal is one that pushes boundaries, taking lyrical inspiration from social-realism and conforming to nothing. As such, it is completely up my alley, and even if I don’t completely understand the background or intent, I am guaranteed to have a great experience with odd time-signatures, jazzy inspirations and overall mad soundscape. Skær is the newest concoction from this group which releases from Virkelighedsfjern in a few days. Go get it if bands like Dødheimsgard, Virus and Gruzja mean anything to you!
Sometimes I am treated to some truly majestic and nightmarish metal, which I know will go on to do great things. This is very much true of Inferno’s upcoming album Paradeigma, which releases on the 7th of May. The surprise was for me when I learned that this Czech band has existed since 1995, and this is my first time hearing of them. I never would have guessed that, owing to the modern and cavernous sound prevalent on this album, which could have been mistaken for a modern Icelandic or US production. Not having checked their previous discography out, this still speaks volumes of a band that is willing to evolve and push the frontier.
Listened To This Week:
I remember Spire’s first album Entropy from 2016, which was quite impressive. Now I get to listen to these Australians outdo that with Temple of Khronos, an extremely well polished and composed album, which is a worthy successor to the debut. The album as a whole just feels bigger, everything is just polished a little bit more, without overdoing it and the band itself pushing what was already going for them; their progressive and innovative songwriting. The vocals especially deserves some spotlight as they are utilizing both harsh as well as clean vocals with great effect. Overall, this dark soundscape will be sure to haunt many listeners for years
Lithuania is standing at the forefront of a wave of really talented extreme metal bands, that have all but escaped the attention of the Metal world. That is a total shame, because bands like Au Dessus, Luctus, Sisyphean and Crypts of Despair really makes the case for a strong Baltic scene worth diving into, each exploring different extreme metal aspects. Crypts of Despair's second album All Light Swallowed is but a few days old as of writing this, and its blend of black/death metal feels like a perfect bridge between old-school moves and contemporary innovation, a good production highlighting details giving the album a both menacing and fresh sound. Do yourself a favor and check Crypts of Despair as well as explore the Lithuanian bands mentioned above!
Neptunian Maximalism - Solar Drone Ceremony
And now for something completely different. As an avid listener of many types of music, Neptunian Maximalism's grand album Éons from last year was truly one of the best non-metal albums I have ever heard, like a perfect soundtrack to a classic movie. Now back with Solar Drone Ceremony, this single track album is a live recording which continues in their style to defy any genre-labels put on them, mixing elements of free jazz, drone, psychedelic and ambient to create another spectacular and mind-altering experience. However, I will acknowledge that this is something you need to be in the right mood for, but for those willing to go there, you will find some of the most unique music ever created.
P.S.
Currently inspirational:
Recently, I have been listening to one of the most inspiring doom metal classics back from 1991, which has since been a benchmark for doom metal. Cathedral was formed by Lee Dorian after he had left Napalm Death after just 2 albums, as he wanted to make slower music. He met the rest of the band through the local scene and together they made Forest of Equilibrium, which is clearly influenced by Black Sabbath. This album has since become a British doom metal classic, and Cathedral has until their dissolution put out a great and varied discography, at times taking influence from numerous prog-rock and psychedelic projects.
Currently looking forward to:
This month I am looking forward to some good old-fashioned speed/thrash metal and that comes from the German speed metal band Vulture. If you, as I am, are a fan of old school metal where the genre definitions mattered on what is speed metal and what is thrash, then you will love this record. It is fast, fast and more fast and all about Dealin’ Death and kicking ass, and I would recommend you drink lots of beer and party hard while listening to this when it releases on the 21st of May!
Listened To This Week:
This week I have been listening non-stop to this space noise/sludge doom/post metal/whatever band, Sâver, out of Norway. They Came with Sunlight is the band's first full length album which came out in 2019 and has made them into a hidden treasure in the underground. I have had the privilege of seeing them live twice and holy shit they are so good! The first time I did not know them and was completely blown away by their performance. They were there to support the mighty Bongripper and they damn near outshined them. To describe the music itself, well, heavy is one word I will use, but there is much more to their music than that. The vocals are so well done that the screams that come in the heavy parts reminds me of grunge, especially when there are slow parts or songs. All of that adds up to a very well put together album, and should be interesting if you like experimental metal or just heavy music.
X.K.
Currently inspirational:
Earlier this year the atmospheric black metal project Blurr Thrower unleashed this debut album that slipped right into our mailbox and suddenly became one of my favorite records to be released so far this year. Not knowing who stands behind this french project makes the atmospheric distorted noise that more captivating. It offers some uncontrolled vibrations as it comes off rather chaotic as everything clashes into one big mass of instruments and vocals. Ambient and experimental as well.
Favorite song: AMNIOS
Tomorrow will mark the release date of the fourth album "Heralds of Strife" by the Indonesian atmospheric black metal emperors Vallendusk. For a number of years, these guys have created a simple but attractive soundscape in which they manage to enchant the beautiful sides of nature in a musical form. Since their first album "Black Clouds Gathering" from 2013, I have been a devoted listener who always returns to certain songs that are a part of my so-called "travel playlist". This new addition is much like their previous releases as the positive energy that lies between each riff and drumming has a markedly radiant outing, look at the sky and you can almost feel the sun shining through the clouds.
Currently looking forward to:
This must be my greatest new discovery this month as I've never heard of these Romanian atmospheric black metal masters before, and damn am I obsessed with their on top of obscure prog-ish sound that within the vocals carries more folk-ish vibrations. It has been nine years since the release of their latest album which I am still in the progress of fully listening to. "Har" takes the listener through a journey I would describe as spiritual and oddly cleansing, bringing out some chaotic mindsets just as the negative and positive thoughts fight against each other in infinity. The highlight of the album will be the many different aspects of vocals that are thrown in. May the 14th marks its release date, don't miss it.
Listened To This Week:
With the currently small reopening of our country here in Denmark, concerts are slowly appearing here and there, and as a devoted live music follower being at my first gig this year this recent Saturday I am just hungry for more. In the next couple of weeks, parts around Denmark offer some great extreme metal live shows in form of two festivals and some gigs with many bands like this one that back in 2018 released this breathtaking overwhelming black metal album. Its forty-eight minutes are spellbinding which sometimes can feel like an eternity of feeling empty and at the same time feels like it passes right by in a heartbeat. See you in Aalborg!
Favorite song: Jeg bærer deres lig
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