Early in their career, the Norwegian duo Limbonic Art was close to being mentioned in the same circles as the likes of Emperor, Arcturus, Borknagar, and such. Their 1996 debut The Moon in Scorpio and 1997 follow up In Abhorrence Dementia, were heralded as near classics in the symphonic black metal genre. However, the band […]

What do you get when you cross mid-90s Black Metal ie: Dark Funeral, The Abyss, Necrophobic and Dissection with Helloween, and Metallica? The kind of vibe that Bloodcross is laying down on Gravebound. These unholy Finns are firing on all thrusters with this debut full-length. After releasing the Abysmal Blood Demo in 2021, they (presumably) […]

Minnesota’s Grand Demise of Civilization returns with their fourth full-length album. If you are not familiar with Grand Demise of Civilization they play a unique style of black metal. Part of what makes their sound unique is their use of eight-string guitars mixed with unbelievably relentless drum work. “The Redeemer of Wrath” kicks off the […]

Death. War. Pestilence. Famine. A dying planet gasping for breath as it is gripped in the throes of Armageddon. Legions of demons sweep across the land, killing all in sight with reckless abandon. As the skies fall and the moon becomes black as sackcloth, it is out of this malignant hatred that Downcross was formed […]

Finland. When I think of Finland I tend to think of the recent film Sisu. It’s about this gold miner who finds the mother load in a vein of gold. Long story short, some Nazis are killed in fantastically thrilling ways.  While I was listening to this debut album from Kratti Matka Kohti Kosmista, I […]

I grabbed the promo for this release because A) it was on Antiq Records, home of the finest medieval black metal, and B) the band moniker reminded me of French folk metal act Boisson Divine, whose La Halha I reviewed back in 2020, and rather enjoyed. Well, lo and behold Moisson Livide (‘Angry/Livid Harvest’) is […]

I love French Black Metal with every beat of my Black heart. The French have always been pretty brutal; guillotines and revolution were a way of life for many years of the country’s history. Not to mention WW1 and then occupation by the Nazis in WW2. The conflict hardened the country and unfortunately inspired a […]

By now it’s not a secret that Finland spews out some incredible Black Metal. I could sit here and name check every band and that would be boring as fuck. I’m guilty of it, and since I realize that I’m excluded from persecution and it’s usually in my introduction where I pull that shit anyway. […]

The Greek mythology and the pantheon of gods has always fascinated me. From as long as I was able to read at a decent level I’ve loved the stories of Achilles, and after reading the Iliad I was hooked. So it’s no surprise that I have a soft spot for Greek Black Metal and the […]

During the total eclipse of the sun earlier this year, I wasn’t as stupid as most of the population seems to have been by looking at the sun, I admit to taking pictures of it. It was a bit magical, I had a bonfire going, and through no consequence at all I ended up listening […]

I love a good mystery. One of the most used introductions “it was a dark and stormy night” always set the mood for some sort of dark mischief. So, today is not dark and stormy, yet I have a mystery on my hands. It concerns this band that El Jefe sent me called Lvme and […]

Well, I used a flaming tree limb as an air guitar for the first time today (I should mention that I was pretending it was driftwood from some sunken wreck) so… that’s something new. But I couldn’t help it, something was possessing me and moving me forward to this lava black beach. Yeah, that’s right, […]

I’ve been on a bit of a black metal kick of late, and one band that has scratched that particular itch is German trio Stiriah and their third album, Portal, released back in February. Lying squarely in the 90s second wave, with a semi-melodic and symphonic sound (there are keyboards here and there but it’s […]

So here is a reunion I’m not sure anyone was really clamoring for. Fall of Serenity came up with fellow Germans Heaven Shall Burn, releasing their first material on a split with HSB in 1999. They released four albums between 2001-2007 that all delivered the same sort of metalcore/hardcore/melo death sound (although their debut was […]

Although it feels like it’s been a long time since Hulder released her debut, it’s been about 3 years. In the meantime, she’s had several short releases, toured, and has been working almost non-stop. This year, she’s releasing her new album Verses in Oath, as well as headlining the upcoming Decibel Tour with several other […]

It was a cold, frostbitten night when my phone notification showed a new message. I swiped the lock screen and saw it was from El Jefe himself, my editor. He was asking in an enigmatic fashion if I would like to review this new album from Wolves of Perdition. I said that I would give […]

Finally, we have Abhoria’s second full-length, Depths. I feel like this album has been teased frequently on social media. However, that may be because I follow their record label, Prosthetic, and the band. So, if there’s anything teased, I’m going to see it. Oddly enough, though, when I was finally sent the promo, I was […]

Being in a league with bands like 1349, Tsjuder, Horna and Nargoroth must be a great feeling (or maybe not, they might hate each other) but either way making metal this black is what Funeral Winds have been consistent with throughout their career. Since 1992 the band has been the constant work of Hellchrist Xul […]

Germany’s Atronos is one of the many projects that feature vocalist ‘Baptist’ who also serves in two other great German black metal acts Mavorim and Eisenkult. Eisenkult used to be his outlet for more triumphant medieval black metal with albums like 2020’s Gedenken wir der Finsternis, but in 2022 Eisenkult did a split demo with his […]

Los Angeles Infernal Black Metal Wrath of Logarius (formerly Martyr Logarius) returns with Necrotic Assimilation.   This is an EP at a little over nineteen minutes.  Things get kicked off with a ninety-second intro track called “At the Knighted Throne”.  Kind of eerie swelling synth strings.   Tempo builds and builds and segues into track two. […]

I’ve taken a deep dive into Depressive Suicidal Black Metal (hereafter referred to as DSBM) this year with Happy Days and Shining both reviewed in these hallowed pages and coming extremely recommended by yours truly. I sit here on a gloomy Sunday composing this review and ruminating on the French Black Metal scene; the core […]

The last time I did a review of a Christmas album, it was Majestica’s take on Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. A largely successful, fun, power metal album with plenty of Xmas cheer and classic Xmas hymns and elements. The Black Nativity is the complete opposite. And not in a good way. Illinois Christian black metallers […]

What is the most boring thing you’ve ever heard? Like, go back through those memories and there’s probably something that was as boring as say, watching paint dry or flies fuck, a documentary about the secret lives of boll weevils would be more interesting than that, right? Which brings me to Mortuary Drape and their […]

I am not a musician. I can play drums at a basic level well enough, but my artistic talents find much greater purchase in other avenues. Given how important music grew to become in my life, having to accept that music would probably never be in the cards for me on a more serious level […]

Welcome to the Annual Cynicism Roundtable, where we bring the world’s prominent cynics together to share why we think the world is total bullshit. As always, I’m hosting several well-known guests, such as my first, Neill Jameson of Krieg. I’d ask how you are, but I think we all know the answer. On that note, […]