Armchair rhetoric on extreme metal
Funeral Baptism: In SolitudineOut 30th May on Loud Rage Music If you ever conceived the (admittedly niche) desire to know what Dissection would sound like playing depressive black metal it’s all here. Thrilling and graceful melodic content flirting on the border of the trivial engages in a balancing act with intense emotional flourishes expressed through... Continue Reading →
Kill the bliss At the risk of sounding infantile, I’ve come to hate summer. Aside from the needlessly long, skin damaging days, the clammy, sleepless nights, and the ambient good cheer of outdoor folk, life seems to reserve its more challenging scenarios for the summer months. I usually turn to the suffocating activity of death... Continue Reading →
In 1985 Ray Belknap placed a 12-gauge shotgun under his chin and shot himself, dying instantly. His friend James Vance then took the same shotgun, placed it under his own chin, and pulled the trigger. He survived but was severely disfigured. The parents sued Judas Priest, whose music, they claimed, had mesmerised their sons, encouraging... Continue Reading →
Why is metal such a stubbornly perennial passion? I’d venture that it’s not just the intensity and obsession it provokes, but just how deep and far the genre spread across the globe. If you ever feel the need to refresh your listening rotation, you can pretty much close your eyes and point to a place... Continue Reading →
Wreathed in Dead AngelsOut 25th April on Hells Headbangers I was beginning to think that Profanatica were flagging by the time ‘Rotting Incarnation of God’ came out. With retrospect one could appreciate the intention behind the choice to veer toward a more considered, ambient doom iteration of their signature ferocity. But given the unique barbarism... Continue Reading →
Chasms of Ash and InequityOut 9th March on Blackened Label Records Metal Archives genres are an interesting thing. The site goes out of its way to stay as broad as possible. I generally agree with this policy. I may even go broader (there are only four metal genres and I will die on that hill).... Continue Reading →
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 →
Hate Meditations 