Author Andrew Doherty
I know most of Neige et Noirceur’s back catalogue, and I think it’s fair to say that this one-man project always has an interesting take on black metal. This album is no exception. As the title may suggest it is… Continue Reading →
This is the world of dark soundcapes, apocalyptic guitars and epic synth sounds, they tell us. It all points to collapse on this, the band’s 8th album release. “Ark of Horizon” is post rock with electronica. The album as a… Continue Reading →
My first encounter with Communic was in 2006, when they played in the slot before headliners Riverside at ProgPower Europe. To be truthful I can’t remember anything about it, and haven’t followed their progress in any detail since, but I… Continue Reading →
It’s handy to know that Hegerøth take their inspiration from bands such as Dark Funeral, Emperor, Naglfar and Old Man’s Child, but having been fortunate enough to hear the Polish band’s two previous albums and their EP going back to… Continue Reading →
Dark Buddha Rising come with some reputation. These “dark underlords of psychedelic drone” attract words like occult and spiritual. Looking back on the reviews by different writers, they’ve always made a deep and positive impression. It’s my turn now. “Sunyaga”… Continue Reading →
If a picture paints a thousand words, then Scaphoid got off to a great start with the artwork on “Absent Passages”. I found myself mesmerised by the shadowy image of a crumbling city by a river. And with instrumental prog… Continue Reading →
French band In Cauda Venenum recently released the enigmatically-titled album G.O.H.E., their second full release. It captured the interest of Ave Noctum’s writer Andrew Doherty who at the invitation of the band’s label Les Acteurs de l’Ombre asked band members… Continue Reading →
As the title suggests, the theme of this album is the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD. An epic prog journey is promised by Dark Quarterer, in their 40th year and now releasing their eighth album. The spooky start is… Continue Reading →
Six misanthropic numbers depicting “a spiritual journey through the destruction of the western civilization and the rise of Antichrist and his eternal kingdom” are what to expect here. I was well acquainted with this Swedish black metal, having first encountered… Continue Reading →
The first thing I learnt about this, the fourth album by German black metallers Streams of Blood, was that all the hard copies of the CD had been stolen. I can relate entirely to the frustration of that after a… Continue Reading →
Belgian black metal band Antzaat step forward with their first album following an EP release in 2017. Around since 2015, their style is described as Scandinavian with hints of Sargeist and Behexen. I thought we’d started off at a wedding,… Continue Reading →
From the prog stable of Layered Reality Productions comes this fifth album by Italian quintet Soul Secret. The band’s keyboard player made an interesting observation when talking about the theme to explain “Blue Light Cage: “People think they are actively… Continue Reading →