The Mire – Vice Regalia

a1848591908_16 (1)UK’s The Mire is a black metal band fond of experimentation, and not so much of preconceived ideas about the genre. They’ve been active since 2009 with a two-song demo, and Vice Regalia is their most recent release, which classifies as an EP, clocking in at just under 25 minutes. Unfortunately, the band has announced this release as their final one, and apparently won’t be making new music anymore.

The band blends clean singing with different styles of harsh vocals, which pulls them towards the side of avant-garde black metal just a little, sound-wise. To that is added their experimentation, … Read more

Ur Draugr premieres new song and announces new album!

Australian progressive blackers Ur Draugr just announced With Hunger Undying, their upcoming album, and for that we get to hear “Fertile Crescent”, their tasty, blasty new song!

The album will come out November 23rd on ATMF. You can pre-order it here or be wiser and wait to actually hear the whole album before putting any penny down. However, I have to say that this song is pretty damn good!… Read more

The Fifth Alliance – Death Poems

Netherlands’ The Fifth Alliance is a doom/sludge band active since 2013, from what I can tell, because it’s the year of the release of their debut album, “Unrevealed Secrets of Ruin”. But today I’ll be reviewing their upcoming album, Death Poems, which will come out October 31st through Grains of Sand Records. The album also has touches of post and black metal to it.

It’s rather uncommon to hear a band in that genre that is led by a female singer. Here, Silvia delivers monotonous yet emotional screams that wouldn’t be out of place on a post-hardcore album. And … Read more

Kvøid – Nihility

Experimental black metal has lately been a thing I opened about, and I’m glad I did. The amount of incredibly good music that this genre hosts is mind-boggling, and I won’t ever forgive myself to not have opened up to the marvellous world of black metal before that. That being said, the latest band I became acquainted with is Kvøid, a duo from Portland whose first album, Nihility, came out September 23rd of this year.

First off, the amount of field recordings and minor seconds on this album is rather impressive. It reminds me somewhat of Ulcerate and … Read more

Wildernessking – Mystical Future

12106826_1149703221723915_927854611030029327_nComing all the way from South Africa is Wildernessking, the progressive atmospheric black metal band, releasing their second full-length album Mystical Future, after their 2012 debut and two EP’s in the meantime.

With extensive songs, often longer than 8 minutes, they give themselves time to patiently lay down an atmospheric vibe that will be fully exploited throughout the song. This is most easily noticeable with the most calm song “To Transcend” because of the clean sound, but it remains true for the other songs, at least from what I could tell. That’s a common trait among atmospheric black … Read more