FAST REVIEW Firtan - Wogen der Trauer

A fast one for the night in lack of anything else. This is an extremely melodic record from some youngsters in Germany. The synthesizer always present and very close in the soundscape of this album, and there are some pagan melodies here and there in this easy digested compote, even though I would have liked more of those and less of the dimmu-bullshit. But, hey! its an alright record in its entirety and well worth a listening if you're into this stuff, pagan scented melodic BM. 

6/11

Best track: Für immer Schweigen

Check them out here:

REVIEW Valkyrja - The Antagonist's Fire

Finally a new album (after almost four fuckin years of slumber and waiting) from one of the lords of swedish black metal together with Ofermod and Watain (if you ask me). The comparison with Watain isn't that far fetch to begin with, the music is vastly in the same vain of the above mentioned band together with the lyrical and imagery themes are close to each others. And to top it all are both bands complete full-length catalogue recorded at the excellent Necromorbus studio by Tore Stjerna which obvious sets a quality mark on the releases. So it isn't that hard to see why these bands often get paired together. But were they differ them self  from each other is in the evolution of the bands, were Watain always seems to be a step ahead and Valkyrja following after (nothing bad about it!!!). But enough said about Watain, this is a Valkyrja review for fuck sake!!! This is a horrifically awesome recording from the first opening riffs of "Betrayal Incarnate" to the last infernal tones of the closing track "Treading the Path of the Predator". I enjoy the whole terrible and interesting journey through the bottomless chasms to the endless darkness of abyss. This album grows on you for every time you hear it, getting higher and higher like the black flame. It has every element that you ask for from a great BM band and all the things you crave!!! Its an extremely rewarding journey to take for all your senses, you don't fucking want to miss this release!!! 

9,5/11

Best track: Madness Redeemer

Check them out here:

https://myspace.com/valkyrjaswe

REVIEW AlNamrood - Jaish AlNamrood

This is something new for this temple (blog) of the devils voice, a band from Saudi Arabia!?! Bands from the middle east isn't something that the scene overflows with directly, especially good ones. I fucking like the music I hear, even though its kind of a guilty pleasure, Maybe its massive amounts of keyboards and the apparent drum machine that makes me feel a little bit ashamed about enjoying it. But fuck, this rerecording of the bands first songs is good as hell!!! The middle eastern influences in the music is done beautifully and still keeping it on some kind of primitive level, and that what's make this band standing out. And don't forget the monotonic shitty drum machine (I always had weakness for drum machines, don't fucking ask why), it works perfectly here, and brings to the whole experience too. Think old Falkenbach butt scrap the viking influences and replace them with middle eaten and you are there. 

8/11

Best track: Atba'a Al-Namrood

Check them out here:

REVIEW Devoted Iota Elusion - Reverence for Cruelty

I have some mixed feelings for this album, i really want to like this shit a lot. It has every potential to be an awesome album with good musical skills and a great atmosphere that you almost can take on. The album starts slowly with a quite long ambient intro that builds up to some classical BM riffs. But it quickly differs from any run of the mill black metal with the moodsetting keyboard in the background. It gets pretty diverse but still clings on the kind of riffs you are used too, and its easy to hear a lot of influences from bands like Burzum and Ulver here. The record brings me pictures of cobwebs covered in dewdrops with a thick fog that embraces the empty fields in the autumn dusk. And thats the best thing with this album, it generates vivid images in your brain filled with sombre solitude. But on the other hand aren't the clean vocals anything to cheer over, they are pretty lame and doesn't add that much to the album, but okey, the work. And the biggest thing, the record makes me quite sleepy if should be honest, some of the atmospheric passages are too long and almost makes me fall into dormancy, but that don't have to be a bad thing, not at all!!! Its a good fucking album to put on late at night to bring you to the right feeling and place to meet the darkness as your eyes closes. 

8,5/11

Best track: The Empyrean Heroine of Despondency and Tribulation

Check them out here:

http://devotediotaelusion.bandcamp.com/

REVIEW Urna - Mors Principium Est

I have to confess before I go any further into this review that I haven't had as much time to listen to this album as it deserves and needs. For this is a extremely complex and hard digested album, but at the same time with its dreadful beauty and atmosphere with the funeral doom elements. This is a album that sends you to hypnosis, to a void between the living and the dead, and its a marvelous journey.  Listening to this ritualistic recording transcends you throughout time and space, to an inimangnal place. Its an impossible task to describe this album and give it any justice in any reasonable way. Just turn down the lights, set fire to some candles and incense and put this near masterpiece on!!!

9,5/11

Best track: Ego sum templum et principium omniae rei

Check them out here:

REVIEW Nekrokrist SS - Der Todesking

Here is something for you dwellers out there who have been longing for some good fucking primitive stuff. Here is a record without no fucking bullshit and frills, its just plain simplistic BM at its essence. The record starts of with a childrens choir singing the classic swedish/finish psalm "Hosianna, Davids son", what a better start can you ask for from this abyssal manifestation?!? This is BM in its pure foundation, with the buzzing razorsharp guitar riffs, the midtempo drums and punk influences, and of course is the influences of Darkthrone more than noticeable, but hey, what the fuck do you expect?!? This is good shit that speaks to you reptile brain without any fancy fucking shit!!!

8/11

Best track: Vala

Check them out here:

http://www.mikseri.net/artists/?id=106548

REVIEW With the End in Mind - EP

This EP is kind of  a interesting release that you probably never heard. This is the kind of arty stuff that the cover sort of show of by it self. I'm usually head over heels for this kind of shit, but here I am little bit split. He really has a lot of interesting elements and idés here, but there are something that don't connect to me all the time, it kind of lacks IT. The terrible gloominess that that drowns your soul in a endless dark abyss, the mood is just not fully here. But don't get me fuckin wrong here, it absolutely ain't a bad release. The demented atmosphere finds its way to you, its getting closer and closer for every minute of listening to this EP. And by the endtrack its damn fucking good!?!

7/11

Best track: Of Myths and Turmoil

Check them out here:

http://withtheendinmind.bandcamp.com/album/ep

REVIEW Carpe Noctem - In Terra Profugus

First thing first, don't get deceived by the banal name of this Icelandic band, the band is far fucking better than the unimaginative name. As a matter of fact they are fucking awesome, this album is like a gift from the chasm below (with maybe a little exaggeration). This is a real fucking marvel of technical BM that are an interesting wormride throughout the whole faulstinking album. They deliver unto us a ably and well played album that almost has a life on its own, with a lot of jazz influences to name a few. I might be a little too positive here now, but i fuckin love every tone that rings out from the sulphurous speakers. And it have the ability to stay interesting no matter how many times I hear it, its so complex, so nightmarish dreamy and terrible beautiful!!!

9,5/11

Best track: Ars Moriendi

Check them out here:

REVIEW Nutrition - Terminus Occultus

At the first glance this release may not stand out as something special, even though the great statue of Moloch on the cover, but the cover give a good clue what this album all are about. The picture is actually from one of the holy grails of conspiracy theorists, Bohemian Grove in California, so its damn easy to understand that this is not your ordinary BM album. Terminus Occultus is all about conspiracies of groups like New World Order, and I must say, I fucking like stuff like this!!! To begin with am I kind of a believer in these things and it even makes the lyrics an interesting listening experience. And I haven't even started talking about the music on this great release. This duo from the states delivers an interesting type of industrial black metal that manage to not get in the common techno trap like many others of this subgenre.  They still keep a lot of the bm essence, mix it with samples a bit of death and industrial without getting it to electronical or clinical. Feed your ears and brains with this shit!!!

8,5/11

Best track: III

Check them out here:

http://nutrition.bandcamp.com/album/terminus-occultus

REVIEW Black Autumn - The Advent October

Autumn maybe a very common name in the genre, but it fits few bands as well as Black Autumn. The music really reminds me of the dark fog covered mornings that the autumn brings with it. With the beautiful landscapes of the dewy moss that embraces every sense. This is your soundtrack to those days when you are out and are wandering spruces, it brings you right there, when you close your eyes. The only bad thing about this EP is the voice, I don't like the style on the vocals at all. They are so uninspiring and in my opinion could they as well just fucked them, for the music on its own is so moodful and mournfully beautiful.

7,5/11

Best track: Dead as Martyrs March

Check them out here:

REVIEW Nahemoth - Novum Testamentum: Evangelium Morti

My first impression of the album were that it kind of sounded like Watain, but that were merely an hasty illusion from my ears and mind. They are not in any way close to the excellent music Watain produces. But don't get me wrong, this is in no way a bad album, rather the opposite. I like what I am hearing here with its kind of melodic and  Dissection odorus BM. From the beginning church bells that sets the mood with some obligated acoustic guitars. There are nothing wrong with the musical actions either, they kind of bring everything you want from this kind of album, with both atmosphere, lyrically and the mixture with both the more calm parts with the echoing melody from the guitar to the more fastpaced parts. Its a good fucking album to sum it all up. Look it up!!!

8,5/11 

Best track: Там, где не помнят Солнца

Check them out here:

https://soundcloud.com/nahemoth218