Metal is defined by its rich tapestry of disagreement. A vast chunk of its vocabulary is oriented toward distinguishing between versions of truth and falsity. Even specific genre tags, ostensibly purely descriptive terms, carry the weight of judgement when used in certain contexts or by certain people (post metal, blackgaze, melodeath, metalcore, nu metal, rock,... Continue Reading →

Lifvsleda: Evangelii h​ä​roldOut 30th April on NoEvDia Integrates a rare balance of styles within an overarching atmospheric black metal package, working in strong melodic currents which are in turn offset by a background siren of depressive drone. Although the majority of riffs offer nothing new as far as frigid black metal is concerned, ‘Evangelii h​ä​rold’... Continue Reading →

InsaneReissue out 8th April on Loud Rage Music (originally released in 1997) Some albums are designed to be approached as disruptive entities. Agents of chaos raining down provocations upon the listener, daring them to either buy into the experience or flee in pearl clutching horror. The aptly titled ‘Insane’ is a rarity even within the... Continue Reading →

Devotion: Astral CatacombsOut 22nd April on Memento Mori This Spanish death metal curiosity returns for a much welcome revamp on their third offering ‘Astral Catacombs’. Despite the aesthetically tech-death cover art, Devotion walk the line between chasmic death/doom and the muscular, mid-paced earthed death metal of early Morgoth or Bolt Thrower. But Devotion are of... Continue Reading →

勝利萬歲 / Long Live VictoryOut 27th March on Pest Productions Xiamen’s Holyarrow delve into 20th Century history for their fourth and latest album ‘勝利萬歲’ (Long Live Victory), which sees them revamp their take on epic black metal into a militaristic sonic rendering appropriate for the mass mobilisations that defined the run up to Chinese independence.... Continue Reading →

Ildjarn haunts Norwegian black metal discourse. A benchmark of monomania. A persistent, violent, unremitting meditational cycle around the raw materials of black metal, unrefined, in their crudest form. Further, his work renders 99% of subsequent raw black metal utterly redundant. The scorched earth left in his wake means there is very little to add. The... Continue Reading →

Antagonyze: Interpretations of the Unknown WildernessOut 19th April on Chaos Records Boils the dark operas of The Chasm down to their raw materials, a process painful to watch but rewarding in outcomes. The questing surrealism of the Daniel Corchado’s signature compositional form is jettisoned at great cost, but the underlying architecture is pleasingly direct, efficient,... Continue Reading →

Black Metal CultOut 29th March on Osmose Productions It’s been 84 years since the release of ‘Sorrow Galaxies’. And finally the not awaited return of Les Légions Noires’ most well known alumnus is here at last. Given the dispute over the Suicide Circle name, it’s perhaps little wonder that Meyhna'ch would seek a less contentious outlet... Continue Reading →

The lads chat At the Gates https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MrTCYHLIdM&t=2421s