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Dark Oriental metal, blackened death metal, doom/death metal…. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many erroneous descriptions of a band’s music floating around. Certainly none of those would be helpful here on this, a re-recording of old Bilocate tracks… Continue Reading →
‘Returning to the Primary Source’ is Graveflower’s first release, although it feels oddly like some overlooked and long out-of print relic, plucked from obscurity from some lofty shelf after years of gathering dust. This turns out to be at least… Continue Reading →
Grand Magus are fast becoming one of the best metal bands anywhere. Following a big money (or not–drummer Sebastian Sippola left before recording started due to work and family commitments) transfer from the deceased Roadrunner Records to the relative big-time… Continue Reading →
Let’s get one thing out of the way – when traditional or folk music meets heavy metal in all its guises, there are acres of ground between those that wear their plaid trousers with a misguided sense of pride and… Continue Reading →
Music that truly evokes something within its listeners is generally the kind that needs to be absorbed slowly and meticulously, something of substance so abundant that it can’t be fully comprehended upon first listen. Time is needed for its true… Continue Reading →
Spawn Of Possession’s first album, Cabinet, was a minor favourite of mine – coming hot on the heels of Visceral Bleeding’s own storming debut on which two members of SoP lent their talents. Their more technical and meandering brand of… Continue Reading →
The Foreshadowing’s 2007 album ‘Days of Nothing’ was a surprisingly good debut; poppy and polished yet saved from being a cheese-fest by its rich, brooding vocals and gloomy, wounded riffs. It had a certain sincerity about it that earned the… Continue Reading →
With a yo ho ho and a bottle of Schnapps the ORIGINAL pirate band are BACK for their fourteenth studio album ‘Shadowmaker’ – and they’re GERMAN! Jaaaaarrrr….. Little known in the UK they may be, but Running Wild have been… Continue Reading →
A two-man outfit from Italy, Valkiria specialise in gothic rock/doom, with a light and airy Mediterranean feel worked in alongside the leaden gloom. They’ve borrowed heavily from classic Katatonia over their past full-lengths, and this influence is still very apparent… Continue Reading →
The Godfather (or should that be Goatfather) of black metal is back. Yes…Yes… the mighty Impiety are back with a new album, Ravage and Conquer, (their 8th album to be exact!) released through Pulverized Records. For the ‘un-informed’, Impiety are… Continue Reading →
Aus Der Transzendenz are Austrian, but the bandmembers’ identities remain shrouded in mystery; we are told only that they are known individuals operating within the black metal underground. The accompanying promo text is all very over the top, espousing an… Continue Reading →