Armchair rhetoric on extreme metal
Vortex of the DestroyerOut 28th March on NoEvDi Records One could read Svartsyn as a direct descendant of ‘De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas'. In the sense that this is one way of achieving a “post riff” form of black metal without leaning on ambience. Rudimentary riffs are still present and correct, but their existence is now... Continue Reading →
Hateful Draugar from the UndergroundOut 28th March on Darkness Shall Rise Synthesises elements of early Enslaved with Burzum to great effect, but veers away from the detached cinematic narratives of the former, into something closely resembling the understated folk narratives of Isengard. The result is a satisfying reaffirmation of black metal as both an atmospheric... Continue Reading →
Master of the Nebulous ReachOut 14th March, self-released Despite the unevenness of Dis Pater’s body of work, he remains an artist I enjoy following closely. This latest EP goes some way to remind me why I am enamoured more with the idea of Midnight Odyssey – and indeed the other projects he has dabbled in... Continue Reading →
Sprung has spring There’re flowers everywhere. Something my son, who recently learnt how to say flower, repeatedly reminds me of every time we pass a dandelion, which is many. Rain still pelts the soil with sporadic and utilitarian urgency. But the pauses between showers are now defined by glorious stretches of sunshine, its inroads into... Continue Reading →
High Speed Death: Damned GenesisOut 7th March on La Caverna Records (originally released in 1991) This restored and remastered version of a previously lost demo reveals an Italian outfit working at the peripheries of thrash’s transition into death metal. I am unable to find out if this material was written prior to 1991. As it... Continue Reading →
Sadist: Something to PierceOut 7th March on Agonia Records If you want to understand the paradox of progressive metal, studying the career of Sadist can be highly instructive . The more influences the genre imbibes, the broader its expressive range, the march toward unchecked eclecticism, the more its core identity recedes into a distant memory.... Continue Reading →
Voodus: Emanating SparksOut 28th February on Shadow Records/Regain Records Modestly melodic Swedish black metal that ups the game as far as their own standards are concerned. The overall packaging is still thoroughly domesticated, renting a generous helping of ideas from ‘The Somberlain’ whilst flattening off its longform ambition in favour of crowd pleasing speed thrills,... Continue Reading →
Zora: Scream Your HateOut 28th February on Great Dane Records (originally released in 2016) Direct, linear death metal benefits the form by stripping away any unnecessary fat, leaving a precision timed device of aggressive, energetic percussive noise. The format may be simple, but the playing is precise, with pin sharp rhythms forcing what are at... Continue Reading →
Oblations in AtrocityOut 15th February, self-released Captures a sense of amateur possibility missing in much of the overly curated gestures to lo-fi black metal in the contemporary landscape. In this regard it mirrors early Ungod in its bisection of idiosyncratic riff signatures that nevertheless thrive within traditional melodic forms elevated by a drab ambience that... Continue Reading →
EspressoOut 23rd August on Island Records Sabrina Carpenter develops the form of trancelike black metal by pivoting on a simple yet effective interchange of two chords, using this framework to hang harmonic interplay arriving in whimsical sequences that take time to unpack on repeated listeners. Percussion adopts a similar poise by fleshing out a basic... Continue Reading →
Hate Meditations 