Author Andrew Doherty
Not much to go on here, but the statement “for fans of Fluisteraars” was for me a draw. That at least set me up to expect some atmospheric black metal from Netherlands. The opening piece of creeping nastiness is pure… Continue Reading →
High Castle Teleorkestra – The Egg That Never Opened (Radio Free Albemuth part 1) (Art as Catharsis)
Billed as Experimental/Cinema Italiano, this album has eccentricity written all over it. The inspiration here is sci-fi author Phillip K. Dick and in particular one of his novels “Radio Free Albemuth”. I confess that this reference and indeed the works… Continue Reading →
From Saudi Arabia they came to Germany with their brutal death metal. The band Sijjeel is almost 10 years old. This “force of bone-breaking intensity, wrapped in a cloak of nightmares” is their first full release to go with an… Continue Reading →
This band has been on my radar for quite some time. From Poland, avant-garde black metal is an apt description as each of their previous three albums have been differing and accordingly intriguingly epic balls of dark atmosphere. The opening… Continue Reading →
This band’s previous album “Pora Umierać” (2018) was a riotous, livewire affair so I was hoping that this nominally black-punk band from Poland would give us more of the same. The first thing to note about Truchło Strzygi is that… Continue Reading →
Dutch seems to be one of those languages that works with black metal, and here come Hellevarder, itself meaning Hell Fare with an example of it. De Nevel van Afgunst (The Mist of Envy) is the band’s album release, following… Continue Reading →
Our dark metallic synthwave friend who leads The Algorithm is back with his fifth album. I’m actually better acquainted with their live shows than their recorded albums, of which I own just “Brute Force” (2016), and even though it’s 5… Continue Reading →
This is the second album from this Lithuanian band, following “Illusions of Eternity” in 2017. They describe their black metal as “dissonant”. Well that’s one word for it. I was surprised to hear a dark industrial electronic beat to begin,… Continue Reading →
Well, if the evocation of “the archetypal personification of death as it tethers human consciousness to the realm of earthly suffering” is what you’re looking for, here’s the thing for you. Clearly these Americans have spent a while thinking about… Continue Reading →
On numerous occasions I’ve come across the scenario where someone has moved to somewhere inspiring like Scandinavia or Ireland, and has composed a work based on the inspiration. Such is the case here where an Australian known as M moved… Continue Reading →
I am old enough to remember that “Back Home”, the title of this album, was the title of the 1970 England football team’s song. There ends the connection. Slightly more recently, it was in 2009 that I heard French progressive… Continue Reading →
When you start mentioning the likes of Dødheimsgard, Blut aus Nord, Anorexia Nervosa and Manes as clues, this album can only have one direction. For sure, OPHE won’t stand for Office of Public Health Education, that is unless we’re being… Continue Reading →