Elsinore: The Vengeful Ghost/Tombstone Hex
Out 5th December on Caligari Records
Brief but tight EP that reminds us that death metal, even in its germinal form, was always melodic in some sense. Explicit references to early Death sit happily alongside the journeying primitivism of Celtic Frost. The presentation is cleaner than the vintage implied by these reference points however. A clear desire to elevate the primal to a place of sophistication exists in stark contrast to more explicitly highbrow melodic forms filtered through a classically minded heavy metal lens. Aggressive, mid-range vocals consolidate the allegiance to pre-Altars death metal, leveraging the percussive dynamics of a latent thrash DNA to further energise the music which at times is embattled by its own inertia.
Omegavortex: Diabolic Messiah of the New World Order
Out 5th December on Third Eye Temple
Places the illogical chromaticism of Profanatica onto a highspeed treadmill of disconnected blast-beats, supplemented by siren wails of dissonant urgency. Phrasing emphasises the fluidity of blackened grind, mimicking the informal, liquid flow of jazz. In this sense it feels almost improvisational. The stop/start momentum and striking collisions of staccato accents against driving runs of uninterrupted noise gives the impression that this music can only be performed if the drummer and guitarist can make eye contact. Aggressive mid-range vocals save themselves for only the most high intensity passages, allowing the disconnected rhythmic interludes to create space before the next burst of anomic speed. Here we see how Omegavortex have borrowed the most compelling elements of power violence, lifting and shifting them into a more compelling artistic setting owing to the sheer, gothic monstrosity articulated via the metallic language deployed across these tracks.
Greve: Bleknat Bortom Evig Tid
Out 6th December on Purity Through Fire
Sobers up the melodic fanfare of contemporary black metal by referring it back to the darker iterations of this style that emanated from Sweden in the mid-90s. As with Swartadauþuz’s other project Gnipahålan, although this is not explicitly symphonic black metal a similar effect is achieved through layers upon layers of tremolo guitars, with very little space left in the mix for the imagination. But here the production is somewhat sharper, allowing greater clarity of riff articulation by which to navigate these pieces. Distant vocals emerge through the cacophony like spectres in the night, incidental yet effective ornamentation to what is fundamentally an instrumental affair. What marks this apart from less studied takes on black metal is not just the emotive range but the ability to contain it within a totalising expression of naturalism. The music touches on modern sentiments toward the melancholic and the cathartic, but these are contained within an overall picture that feels indifferent, naturalistic, in some sense dangerous.
Velmorth: Feral Dominion
Out 6th December on Purity Through Fire
Much like this artist’s other project Order of Nosferat, the experience is a highly curated facsimile of primitive but melodic black metal without imagination or any sense of jeopardy. Projects like this get by on perfectly replicating the feel of something authentic, meaning that if one digs down into a study of the raw materials they will always come up short, finding little more than a series of predictable, derivative runs of sterile offcuts that might grab the attention of someone largely unfamiliar with black metal. It leverages punk not as an ethos, but as a literal means of injecting an accessible bounce into the music, alongside the pop cadences of more commercial iterations of punk itself. The result is more a series of gestures. Of riffs that look like they should be reaching for something beyond the immediate, but in their totality amount to little more than a sugar rush.
Astral Spear: Ancient Throne of Sinister Rites
Out 12th December on Signal Rex
Flowing, gradualist black metal rarely deviates from blasting runs of frigid energy. In this sense it mimics ‘Hvis lyset tar oss’ in tone and intent. There is an undeniably compelling atmospheric current running through this EP, but one perhaps a little too reliant on guitar tone alone to convey an identity. Once the world is built it is populated by effective yet slightly obvious harmonic development. But it understands that – especially for this form of Nordic black metal – the goal is to get more from less, hammering home individual refrains ad absurdum, thus preparing the ground for the slightest shift in direction to appear replete with significance. Drums play their part in this endeavour by simply being present, adding temporal motion and only the most modest of fills to signal any transition, little more is required. It’s telling of the state of the modern black metal scene that the word “inoffensive” carries more complimentary connotations in this day and age. And, despite the modest achievements articulated on this EP, inoffensive is perhaps the best way to frame its strengths.
Azketem: Amid
Out 12th December on Darkness Shall Rise
Gothic doom with a vestigial black metal element officiating in the background. In this sense the album achieves a degree of stylistic tension, as it evolves seamlessly from one aesthetic current to the next whilst somehow retaining its integrity. Basic gothic rock passages capitalising on expressive yet oddly deadpan vocals and an undeniably idiosyncratic atmosphere that may alienate more hardened metal listeners, but the muscular, downbeat delivery provokes that rare thing in goth, suspension of disbelief. Chorus driven lead guitars are undergirded by a weighty distorted tone referencing everything from funereal doom segments to the more poppist groove of a Type O Negative. But for all the commercial flourishes growing and festering as the album progresses, all is covered in an obscurantist, near mystical atmospheric current that elevates or rather complements the material, allowing it to flow by in liminal, dreamlike currents. It’s the haunting, intimate poise running concurrently to a more orchestral majesty that aligns this with the more ambitious branches of gothic rock via Fields of the Nephilim and the like. A display that in any other context can be hard to swallow, but here delivered with conviction and expertise that carries both the performance and the artistic impact.
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