Album Reviews

The past decade has been quite diverse for the Finnish outfit Swallow The Sun, the fact that their sound shifted to a melodramatic style of melodic doom metal, leading them to break new grounds. Between the albums "New Moon”, “Emerald Forest and the Blackbird” and the latest release “Moonflower”, they forged a whole new path for the band. Despite my fondness of their earlier albums such as “The Mourning Never Came” and “Ghosts of Loss” there are many memorable moments from the soaring clean vocals and the keyboards.
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Denver-based death metal four-piece Blood Incantation returns from the deep dark void of space with its third full-length album “Absolute Elsewhere” out via Century Media Records on October 4th, 2024. The quartet is fronted by Paul Riedl (guitars and vocals), Morris Kolontyrsky (guitars), Jeff Barrett (bass guitar), and Isaac Faulk (drums) have captured the quintessence of their previous releases. “Absolute Elsewhere” takes a more porgy direction; compositionally and thematically, the album channels both the endeavor and the focus on diverse sounds that push further beyond the thresholds of their 2019 sophomore “Hidden History of the Human Race”.
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Slavic black metal pioneers Arkona have remained the mainstay of the underground scene in Poland for over three decades. The original member Khorzon (guitarist, orchestration and songwriter) continues to helm the band and aesthetically explores the straightforward grimness of the second wave of black metal with symphonic elements. With seven albums under their belt, Arkona's musical coherence captures the grand fashion beyond the new trend in the scene today.
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After twenty years extreme black/death metal act Adorior slithers out from the depths of hell to convey its satanic wicked concept through the medium of raw fucking metal. The lineup couldn’t be completed without the collaboration of renowned band members such as D. Molestör on drums (Grave Miasma, Ex-Cruciamentum), S. Assassinator as lead guitarist and backing vocals (Qrixkuor), and R.C. on rhythm guitar (ex-Deströyer 666, Göat Molestör) and T on bass guitar (Grave Miasma, and Malthusian).
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In 2020 when the world shut down, Ensiferum released 'Thalassic' which was the best album yet from Ensiferum. I gave them the highest score possible. The world opened but then well... covid off course. Founding member Markus Toivonen was a prisoner at home, so he had to find new ways to write music. Trying to work with Logic Pro was more stimulating than before. He was able to try and experience how the ideas would sound by building the band with digital midis, adding stems and other stuff into songs. With this in mind the band sounds more epic and gloomier than ever before, adding Pekka Montin's crystal-clear melodic high notes and you have yet again a masterpiece. Let's dive in, shall we.
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Black metal act 1349 trademark always fit the classic style of Norwegian sound; the band gained popularity at the beginning of 00s with their first studio album “Liberation”. Although 1349 hasn’t been quite consistent in their recent albums their solid foundation is established from the roots of the second wave of black metal “The Wolf & The King” is the 8th studio album out via Season of Mist on October 4th, 2024, instantly delivers an undulated mixture of aggression and straight-forward machine-gun blast beats.
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Stadium rock band Kissin Dynamite is Back with a Bang! Their 8th album released on July 24, 2024. Let's see if this album explodes as loudly in our ears as the bright yellow cover with dynamite on it makes us expect it to do.

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Of all the current Finnish black metal bands in the scene today, Aethyrick’s style appeals to me the most: their melodies have grown gloomy and catchy, and the time has now come for the duo Exile and Gall to craft their newest album 'Death Is Absent', their fifth and first album released under the banner of Norma Evangelium Diaboli. The sense of atmosphere lurking in the composition is very akin to bands such as Thy Serpent. The subtle keyboards in the background and the dark guitar playing hold much of the essence of the duo’s musical qualities.
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Dutch blackened death metal formation God Dethroned returns with the new studio album 'The Judas Paradox' out via Atomic Fire Records on September 6th, 2024. The success of the quartet since the mid-nineties has inspired a generation of bands in the extreme metal scene. Their hybrid style enabled them to churn out eleven albums. The grandiosity seems to have worked well for the band on its predecessor 'Illuminati'. In a similar fashion God Dethroned cements polished and refined ideas concerning their grand musical arrangements.
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Dampf is one of the more unique bands out there right now. Their mix of different genres and styles keeps their music fresh and interesting. Also due to the fact that this band has three singers with different vocal styles, there's barely any limitation for them within their songwriting process: if they can think it, they can write it or at least so it seems. If you haven't heard of them before, I certainly suggest giving them a listen.
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