Author Andrew Doherty
Death metal seems a very appropriate medium for an album about the different stages of the annihilation of the human race, which is the theme of “The Selected Breed”. At the same time it’s not difficult to work out what… Continue Reading →
Riverside were without support. They don’t need support. They weren’t alone either. Their reputation goes before them, so a good sized crowd of all ages convened downstairs and upstairs at the Islington Assembly Hall, breaking the recent trend of low… Continue Reading →
Lithuania’s Au-Dessus promise to “push the post black metal borders out” with this album. What I heard in the initial stages was something akin to Novembre, building up in ferocity and intensity. In fact “VI” – “I” to “V” are… Continue Reading →
“Finnish black metal band records album in sunny Spain”, could be the headline. Well, something made them angry. Ajatarra start out by tearing at our throats like hungry lions. Unsurprisingly, I sensed a touch of Moonsorrow but really “Saatanen Sinetti”… Continue Reading →
Lo-Ruhamah’s work calls on hallucinogenic imagery and alternate states of consciousness, they tell us. The framework is a dark and echoey form of black metal music from a chasm, with more than a hint of death metal, and here and… Continue Reading →
And fire swept the earth. No, it’s not Enslaved but Poland’s Misanthropic Rage who cast all asunder with their avant-garde progressive metal. A dark, croaky voice echoes behind a full-out sound which bounces off walls, crunches buildings and creates expanses… Continue Reading →
“Groove is in the heart of darkness”, they say. Well, as well as being groove-masters, Tusmørke are self-proclaimed ambassadors of macabre romanticism. Progressive in a retro way and just plain weird, I’d put it, in the way that certain Norwegian… Continue Reading →
This is the fourth album from symphonic black metal band Akroma, who I confess I didn’t know about before hearing this. A name on the list, which did strike me, was that of Dirk Verbeuren, drummer with Soilwork and the… Continue Reading →
Hate are one of the long standing members of the well-renowned Polish death metal factory, having been going since 1990. Looking at their line-up, the drummer seems to have played with everyone, which is typical of the Polish scene. “Tremendum”… Continue Reading →
Dutch death metal band God Dethroned are a band I remember well from the late 90s and early 00s. I didn’t realise they were still going until I saw this. There is a reason for that, as “The World Ablaze”… Continue Reading →
This is Greek band Until Rain’s third album release as follow-up to “The Reign of Dreams” (2009) and “Anthem to Creation” (2013). My only encounter with the band was at ProgPower Europe in 2015. What I remember about that was… Continue Reading →
Shibalba’s ambient and meditative dark trance is, in their words, intended to “guide the subconscious of the individual to dream beyond the skin of matter & to dream in ecstasy and exult”. Overtly inspired by the East, there are Tibetan… Continue Reading →