Album Reviews

Debemur Morti Productions released the sophomore album 'Endless' of the International black metal project Modern Rites on August 30th, 2024. The comeback album sees the duo Katalyst aka Berg (Aara and Taubrą) on guitar and the multi-instrumentalist Archytekt aka Jonny Warren (Kuyashii). What makes the album so wonderfully atmospheric is the excellent utilization of keyboards and the guitar which has a highly ornamental backing to the raspy vocals.
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Portland, Oregon-based heavy metal/gothic rock band Unto Others (formerly aka Idle Hands) has become a hallmark of gothic metal in recent years, with prominent acts such as Tribulation. The trademark of Unto Others would remind many fans of Type O Negative and Sisters of Mercy and this is exactly what the third album “Never, Neverland” presents fiery guitar riffs and deep vocals of Gabriel Franco packs sixteen rocking songs. The organic composition captures more of the atmosphere of the driven guitar riffs of Sebastian Silva, the stomping drums of Colin Vranizan and the bass riffs of Brandon Hill are groovy yet powerful.
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Britain’s enigmatic duo Zetra is more than a gothic synthwave band that aspires to rise to the stardom of majestic gothic fame and while they certainly have come close to bring their enthralling sonic oeuvre in the latest release. Even though little is known about them the two mysterious figures clad in leather and chains had mistakenly tricked me into thinking they were black metal, that’s because of the corpse paints and the gothic settings of the musical presentation.
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UK’s symphonic black metal Wraithfyre debuted its first full-length album 'Of Fell Peaks and Haunted Chasms' on July 26th, 2024. The band was formed by the multi-musician and vocalist Tom O'Dell whose composition is draped in dark and somber tones of the second wave of black metal. The debut presents seven tracks and an intro and more amusingly the artist combines melodic elements attributed to atmospheric black metal.
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Finland’s black metal formation Horna has its foundations firmly rooted in the Scandinavian extreme metal scene, and for three decades guitarist Shatraug and the only original member of the band embarked on a successful career. Horna which in the Finnish language means “abyss” has stayed true and raw to its musical principles and has often been reputed as the DarkThrone of Finland. The Finns are now at the peak of its endowment, the lineup includes Infection on guitars, Spellgoth on vocals, LRH on drums, and Vnom on bass guitar, wielding a hellish and brutal black metal assault.
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Wintersun is a Finnish melodic death metal band formed in 2003 as a side project from Jari Mäenpää, but it grew out to be a real band after he left Ensiferum. Started in 2003 and now releasing their 4th album, so we can't call this band very productive. However, when they do release an album, it has always been a masterpiece. Now they are releasing 'Time II'. 12 years after releasing the first chapter, which I can say really was a masterpiece, we are going to find out if they can go bigger with the second chapter in the Time saga. Let's check it out below.
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Korpiklaani is always a party! Be it live or on a CD. This time, we get 'Rankarumpu' meaning Ragged Drum, Korpiklaani's 12th studio album already. Let's check it out!
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The brutal death metal elite Nile has remained among the top-notched bands in the U.S. since the nineties onwards. The foray into the brutal aesthetics defined by Karl Sanders (guitars and vocalist) took the band to a constant expansion. With albums like 'Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka' and 'Black Seeds of Vengeance' being the foundations for the legacy of Nile, 'The Underworld Awaits Us All' is the tenth album in their career.
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Two years after debuting the first EP 'The Ageless' California’s trio Vile Rites displays impressive musicianship on their new full-length album 'Senescence' out via Carbonized Records since August 16th, 2024. The songwriting is provided by a trio, comprising bassist and synthesizer Stephen Coon, guitarist and vocalist Alex Miletich and drummer Aerin Johnson, suiting the uncanny nature of the six tracks.
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Canadian black metal is very relevant to Europe and mostly to Norwegian and Finnish raw black metal. It is something that is closely adhered to the nineties era. Quebec black metal act Spectral Wound stands prominently at the center of the newer bands in Canada, and now the quintet has returned with the fourth album 'Songs of Blood and Mire' out via Profound Lore Records on 23rd August, 2024.
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