Author Reverend Darkstanley
Darkness has become very dark indeed these days. Rarely is that more so than in the work of Ævangelist mastermind Matron Thorn whose black metal has been providing a cutting edge for the scene for some time now – with… Continue Reading →
With the end to this year looking promisingly French with releases from Deathspell Omega and Antaeus placed tantalisingly in its back pocket, it seems timely for some old masters like Mercyless to pave the way with a slab of their… Continue Reading →
What better way to introduce Ragnarok, the third and final part of Wardruna’s 8-year trilogy, with a towering battle hymn to Tyr. One of the less readily recognised Norse gods these days (at least for non-metal fans I should perhaps… Continue Reading →
If ever there was an open goal for a doom metal band in terms of musical and cultural thematics, this is it. The sound and spirit of the ancient East – long the imagined home of the tripped-out fan of… Continue Reading →
When an album flows this well you just know there’s skill and no small amount of inspiration coming from somewhere. There’s plenty to go on in the stoner-rock-meets-doom lineage is one of the longest in metal and surely too the… Continue Reading →
Thank god – and by that I mean the guardian of Bifrost himself – that Heimdalls Wacht has returned. Last year’s full-length was all over the place – bloated, too reliant on the clichés of the genre and too long… Continue Reading →
In a time of ancient gods, warlords and why not, yes, probably warrior princesses. A time of wonder, magic and, yes again, weirdly, a time of no electricity but apparently some kind of generating device that could power amps for… Continue Reading →
Nox Formulae are a new one on me but apparently they’ve taken some time out of their busy schedule (trying to free the dark one from behind the thin veil of human reality) to release an album. It doesn’t take… Continue Reading →
Despite having another album called Cvlt and assuming many of the trappings of a black metal band, the first useful thing I can say about Phantom Winter is that they’re not black metal. Well, not entirely true, but not in… Continue Reading →
After blowing my microbial brain through a nuclear-powered orgasmatron with last year’s full-length Sgùrr, I was slightly surprised Thy Catafalque had any creative juice left in the tank. Not only was Sgùrr one of the best albums I heard last… Continue Reading →
So many black metal split releases from frontline bands have emerged over the past 12 months that frantic collectors must be having to take out new mortgages to keep up. But if it’s a nicely balanced EP – including the… Continue Reading →
I first encountered space gazing black metal outfit Mare Cognitum on that impressive split with Spectral Lore back in 2013 (a good place to start with both bands and, while I’m at it, this summer’s Mare Cognitum split with Aureole… Continue Reading →