Author Andy Pountney
If you scratch away at the surface of any music genre, you will always uncover hidden gems that are arguably as good as the “A-Listers”, and in some cases can even surpass them. There are many factors that play a part in… Continue Reading →
In recent years, there has been a surge in the popularity of female singer songwriters from the darker end of the spectrum such as Louise Lemón, Nicole Sabouné, Anna von Hausswolff and of course Chelsea Wolfe, effortlessly crossing musical boundaries,… Continue Reading →
Some albums become a fully immersive experience and this is the case for Wolcensmen’s sophomore release ‘Fire in the White Stone’. Those familiar with the debut ‘Songs from the Fyrgen’ will know what to expect but for the uninitiated this… Continue Reading →
Given the legacy, it is not surprising that Norway continues to spawn seemingly endless black metal bands but after 30 years or so, it is increasingly difficult to find anything that sounds fresh within the genre, with many content to… Continue Reading →
In recent years there has seemingly been a healthy surge in acoustic neofolk outfits and although at face value this style may be a world apart from most metal outfits, the genre has been adopted by large swathes of the… Continue Reading →
Maybe the hottest day of the year and bright sunshine is not the best time to fully appreciate scathing black metal, but such is my dedication that I sat down in the 34 degrees heatwave and pressed play on False’s… Continue Reading →
North America has a rich heritage when it comes to atmospheric black metal with bands such as Wolves in the Throne Room, Agalloch, Alda and Panopticon having evolved a style of their own, evoking images of desolate landscapes and dense… Continue Reading →
All too often we approach new music with preconceived ideas either from previous encounters with a band, media hype or a press release. However, on this occasion I listened to Chrome Waves with absolutely no knowledge of the band and… Continue Reading →
Ave Noctum is primarily for underground extreme music, and I wasn’t even sure whether our esteemed editor would want a review of Metallica but with his arm high up his back he agreed….Those of you that have got this far… Continue Reading →
The final day of a festival is always bittersweet with a whole day of great bands left, but also knowing that when it is done, it is back to the grind of normal life. However, I was determined to enjoy… Continue Reading →
Having cleared the hangover with a big breakfast, I made my annual trip to the infamous Neseblod store. I have written about this in previous years’ reviews so won’t go into detail except to say that Neseblod has a huge place in… Continue Reading →
My second day of Inferno started with a trip to the Kniven bar at 1430 for Psykopath and Sepulcher who were playing during the afternoon prior to the main festival. I made my way to the venue and descended the… Continue Reading →