Tag Katatonia
Maturity. A word that can really polarize opinions within the metal fraternity. Divisive inasmuch as that for every band that evolves with grace, refining their material, tempering naivety with greater self-awareness to deliver even more effective works there are those… Continue Reading →
I encountered this Italian black metal act in 2011 with the release of their second full length “Sentiero II – Ceneri” a rather strange and brooding mix of songs underpinned by black metal. Seven tunes occupy this third album and… Continue Reading →
This well established Swiss act is a new proposition for me, and with the internet offering easy access to hear previous material I was tempted to do so but reading through the promotional literature accompanying the release I decided not… Continue Reading →
Oh hell. There are some times your role sucks and this is one of mine. The problem comes when you get an album to review from a respected record company, with the PR sheet waxing lyrical and philosophical and great… Continue Reading →
About a year ago I reviewed a debut album by Austrian group Harikiri For The Sky which was a shoe-gaze, ambient and Indie sounding take on post black metal. Marrok from that group and also Selbstentleibung has decided to pretty… Continue Reading →
This little beastie sits next to Procession in my listings. Odd as they both play a style of doom. And both come from Chile. And both have these great, haunting, deep, clean vocals. That’s where similarities end, though. Poema Arcanus… Continue Reading →
I’ve spent the last couple of years discovering that Spain is a country where metal genres are enhanced and re-defined. After Toundra and Hybrid, here’s Wrong. This time it’s black metal which gets the treatment. There’s plenty of experience behind… Continue Reading →
With the re-release of an album like Viva Emptiness it’s as well for me to state where I stand on the original. I owe Katatonia more than most bands as, without being overly dramatic ‘Discouraged Ones’ had a definite hand… Continue Reading →
You can tell how successful a festival is by the amount of people there and even as we enter the labyrinth Leeds University to negotiate the four stages that the event has been expanded to the first band on our… Continue Reading →
These days I’m not surprised when another funeral doom band I don’t know crosses my path. They secrete themselves in quiet corners and like ghosts they vanish when you search for them. Publicity shy often, deeply personal invariably, they can… Continue Reading →
There is something rather grimy about the name Ash And Coal and typing it into a search engine I keep getting directed towards images of thick tarry gloop spreading over areas of land and coating it in a filth where… Continue Reading →
I’m genuinely not sure if it’s a good or bad thing when my first reaction to the opening track here, ‘Downtown’ has me going “Firebird!” I mean nice company to be sure, but such an immediate and strong connection? It… Continue Reading →