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Author Andrew Doherty

I’ve been obsessive about music since the late 60s and early 70s when during my childhood in Grimsby I used to watch Top of the Pops and bought 7” singles after saving up my pocket money. I really switched to metal when I first heard Dimmu Borgir. The ambience intrigued me, and through magazines and concerts I discovered new territory in the late 90s. For preference I now listen to black metal, heavy progressive music, Scandinavian-style melodic metal and any style which has an edge, or is downright unusual or bizarre. I managed the band Devillish Impressions, which was an exciting time as we had an album but no label or distribution method. We got the label and a European tour with Aeternus, and as the promoter’s plane was delayed, I finished up setting up the band’s first concert in Hamburg on 28th November 2006. I wrote for a while for Live 4 Metal but switched to Metal Team UK in 2007. Like any real music lover, I enjoy going to concerts and meeting people with the same interest and commitment.

Tchornobog – S/T (I, Voidhanger)

The man behind this work talks about wrestling with his own demons. Accordingly this self-titled album of four long tracks is about psychological disorder and hallucinations. So the initially deep and deathly “The Vomiting Tchornobog (Slithering Gods Of Cognitive Dissonance)”… Continue Reading →

Kval – S/T (Hypnotic Dirge Records)

The sleeve notes usefully tell us that Kval’s debut album “includes slow, agonising material from 2013 to 2016”. This album was originally conceived in 2015 but under the mantle of Khaossos. Life, emptiness and chaos are what drives this one… Continue Reading →

Esoctrilihum – Mystic Echo from a Funeral Dimension (I, Voidhanger)

Esoctrilihum plays unholy music inspired by chaotic visions of an unknown dimension. Well, that’s what it says on this one Frenchman outfit’s site. Nothing is known about Asthâghul, Esoctrilihum’s sole member, but it doesn’t stop him having a web site…. Continue Reading →

MRTVI – Negative Atonal Dissonance (Transcending Obscurity)

I’m always a bit suspicious of albums, which claim to be ground-breaking. In this case it’s a “ground-breaking album that defies conventions and bends perceptions. A twisted interpretation of black metal laced with ambient textures and unpredictable experimentation turns the… Continue Reading →

Decrepit Birth – Axis Mundi (Agonia Records)

This is the fourth album release from Californian band Decrepit Birth. With track titles such as “The Sacred Geometry” and “Transcendental Paradox”, I guess this is what they mean by the themes being “esoteric”. It’s death metal so there’s clue… Continue Reading →

Obscurity – Streitmacht (Trollzorn)

Of the numerous bands called Obscurity, this is the one from Germany. I suppose the album’s Germanic title is a giveaway on that score. The offer is Battle Metal comprising black, death and Viking elements. It all points to war…. Continue Reading →

Next to None – Phases (Inside Out)

I first came across Next to None this year when they accompanied Haken on tour. Loads of action and variety are what I remember about the performance of this band from USA. “Phases” is their second album. “Answer Me” sets… Continue Reading →

The Soundbyte – Solitary IV (Temple of Torturous)

Experimentation and avant-garde metal is what’s promised on this album by The Soundbyte, a project from Trond Engum out of Trondheim in Norway. What I heard at first were ambient sounds and the depiction of a bleak space. The symphony… Continue Reading →

Æra – Of Forsworn Vows (De Tenebrarum Principio)

This seems as obscure as it gets. A guy from Chile with a Scandinavian name and an American from St Louis, Missouri have released their debut ep of pagan black metal. I read that this ep “Of Forsworn Vows” is… Continue Reading →

BardSpec – Hydrogen (By Norse)

The name will be familiar to many. It’s Ivar Bjørnson of Enslaved. Inspired by trance-inducing ambiance, he formed his own project BardSpec and, to quote the publicity, “combines stirring, hallucinatory synth-sounds with mercurial guitar effects and hypnotic rhythms that navigate… Continue Reading →

Madrost – The Essence of Time Matches No Flesh (S/R)

Orange County, California may conjure up images of real housewives. For me I picture Laguna Beach, Irvine and a place called Lake Forest, which I know well. Not so well though to know that this is where progressive thrash metallers… Continue Reading →

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