Tag Archives: Atmospheric Black Metal

Mord’a’stigmata – Dreams of Quiet Places

by Matt Matheson

Mord’a’stigmata—not a name that is easily forgotten—has been a name on the periphery of my radar for years. The Polish group’s brand of bleak metal never captivated me enough to warrant much attention, but on fifth full-length Dreams of Quiet Places they have refined their sound into something impossible to ignore. Both composition and production have taken a substantial step up from 2017’s Hope, with nods to purveyors of blackened sludge like Rorcal and older Altar of Plagues, alongside psychedelic elements reminiscent of Entropia and older A Forest of Stars (or their lesser-known reincarnation, The Water Witch… Read more

The X-Files: Grave Upheaval – Untitled

by Dæv Tremblay

Yesterday morning, a new folder arrived on my desk. The sole name of Grave Upheaval made my skin crawl, but I opened it anyway, driven by my instinctive curiosity and my hunger for the unknown. What awaited inside was almost too much for me to bear, it almost broke me. Just recalling this is hard for me. However, I’ve agreed to testify in front of this comity, so here’s the complete story.… Read more

Chaos Echœs – Mouvement

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

Recently being part of Toilet ov Hell’s “Most Innovative Guitarist in Metal” poll, Kalevi Uibo is the closest thing to a band leader France’s Chaos Echœs has. And, judging by the music alone, he is awfully good at it. Now bands are most often more than one person, and I have to say that every one in Chaos Echœs knows their place and uses it to its full potential. Mouvement is the latest release from the band, and it is impressive in many regards. It would be quite easy to dismiss the band judging by … Read more

Jute Gyte and Spectral Lore – Helian

by Ignacio De Vincenzi

The Music

The Thoughts

The ruin of a generation is shattering.
In this hour, the eyes of the one who watches fill
With the gold of his stars.

Georg Trakl was one of the pioneers of expressionism in its poetry form, an art movement which started in the early 20th century with the purpose of using powerful emotions and moods to express one’s view of the world. “Helian” was, according to him, his most precious and painful poem ever written; dealing with death, decadence, existential crisis and man’s struggle with religion. With this topic on the table, avant-garde masterminds Ayloss … Read more

Außerwelt – Transitions

by Dæv Tremblay

Germany’s post-black metal outfit Außerwelt recently released their debut full-length album, Transitions. The album starts without hesitation and into the soaring riffs of “Isolate the Sun”. Their intention is clear: Transitions is about crafting an atmospheric aura not too far from the mellower post-rock scene, but with added tremolo riffs, and other crushing chords and pounding drums. As far as post-black metal goes, this is quite on the soft side, acting as a bridge or gateway from and to post-rock and black metal. This is a really well crafted album, as each song on it thoroughly explores a theme … Read more