Author Frank Allain
Epic black metal from Kzyrgistan here of all places (though now based in Germany), Darkestrah present an intriguing mix of grandiose atmospherics and folk inspiration on their fourth full-length ‘Manas’. Coming across as a mix of a more straightforward Negura… Continue Reading →
And so we plunge boldly into the deepest reaches of space here courtesy of two one-man projects who very clearly have at least one eye set on the stars. ‘Sol’ is a conceptual 3 song split featuring one long track… Continue Reading →
Summoning more than any other band underline my theory that, far from being misanthropic scions of anti-human violence, the vast majority of black metal enthusiasts are Tolkien-obsessed, multi-sided-dice rolling geeks. This is NOT meant as a slur – after all,… Continue Reading →
My last encounter with Aosoth was their uncompromising debut LP released about 4 or 5 years ago. Though it was a competent, snarling slice of black metal I still recall coming away slightly underwhelmed – perhaps more to do with… Continue Reading →
Early Katatonia. For those of us ‘of a certain vintage’ (i.e. the wrong side of 30), this is an expression that generally tends to bring a whimsical, comforting sense of nostalgia to mind, echoing reminiscence of pastel-hued, obscure misery metal…. Continue Reading →
Back in the late-90s, a phrase would often crop up in reviews of black/death metal albums – ‘Dissection clone’. By and large, this was spot-on. In the wake of Dissection’s landmark second album ‘Storm of the Light’s Bane’, a whole… Continue Reading →
Anyone fancy a blast of experimental, instrumental black metal which produces “a feeling, as if the mind of the listener, dragged into the music, were unable of concentrate itself or were experiencing a powerful hallucinogen effect”? Thought so. Having lurked… Continue Reading →
Cast your mind back to the last time you were due to sit an exam you had under-prepared for, henceforth resulting in last-minute revision cramming. Do you remember the ghastly sensation of reading over the same paragraphs again and again… Continue Reading →
Oh Von. Von, Von, Von – never in the history of black metal has so much been said about so few who have released so little. Two demos released in 1991 and 1992 has been the grand sum of their… Continue Reading →
Now this is impressive. Barely a year after forming, this doom-laden Belgian five-piece have seen fit to unleash a self-financed, self-released full-length album (actually it has been picked up by Aural – Pete ed) . If such a move screams… Continue Reading →
With each passing week, we seem to be assailed by yet more bands keen to celebrate the twin lodestones of Occultism/Satanism and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (or ‘NWOBHM’ to you and me). In Solitude, Blood Ceremony and… Continue Reading →
And so, the much-awaited final instalment in Blut Aus Nord’s ambitious ‘777’ triptych has finally arrived and hotly anticipated it has been chez-Allain. I’d felt for some time now that the band had been treading water a little since 2004’s… Continue Reading →