If Vertikal and its companion piece Vertikal II were Cult of Luna’s final, triumphant shout, then it’s poetic that silence followed afterwards. The band has created a career from the interplay between thunderous, violent peaks, and soft, hypnotic lulls. All the same, I was disappointed to learn that there’d be no more brilliant and mesmerizing […]

Since 2006’s watershed album, Armada, Norway’s Keep of Kalessin have teased with utter brilliance mired in mediocrity. Truly epic, brilliant songs like “Armada”, ‘Crown of the Kings”, “Dragon Iconography”, “The Rising Sign” or “The Divine Land” littered the last three albums and while 2010’s Reptillian seemed to remedy the peaks and valleys of the band’s […]

Sometimes you have to realize just how much your relationship with a band is like your real life relationships.  For example, I’ve been in a relationship with 1349 for over ten years.  We’ve had six albums together including new offering Massive Cauldron of Chaos.  That’s longer than my marriage lasted and actually quite a good […]

Norway’s In Vain, according to the Encyclopaedia Metallum, plays Progressive Extreme Metal. Progressive is a tag that gets thrown around a lot and can mean practically anything. In In Vain’s case, the “progressive” is the same as applies to Borknagar or Emperor but to a lesser extent. In Vain tempers their progressive tendencies with a […]

Formed from the ashes of Windir nearly a decade ago, Norway’s Vreid has since carved out a consistently engaging body of work.  Their sixth album, Welcome Farewell, shapes as one of the most anticipated and contentious black metal releases of the year.   Contentious due to Vreid’s continuing evolution away from their traditional black metal roots […]

Remember that female guest vocalist featured in Dimmu Borgir’s music video for “Gateways”, the hit single of the black metal purist’s most-hated album of 2010, Abrahadabra? Yes, Agnete Kjølsrud, the lanky lady who looks like a witch and wears a tomboyish haircut, thick makeup, and who was swaying awkwardly to-and-fro like a gothic version of […]

Metal-jazz fusion or jazz-metal fusion? Or is it neither jazz nor metal? Live Blackjazz is a dvd/ cd release recorded at Rockefeller Music Hall in Oslo by Shining. A quick history from the metal context has them forming as a jazz quartet in 1998 and releasing several well received albums before getting to perform with […]

After a three year warmup spell upon reforming we finally have a new Einherjer album in our mitts: Norrøn. The offering Frode and Gerhard made at Quorthon’s grave was a good one. Harsher, darker, with overlaying melodic leads that are unencumbered and memorable. They are picking up where they left off, which leaves them more blackened than their […]

With little fanfare Indie Recordings and The End Records (for the US distribution) have released the eighth album from long running proto-folk black metal act Borknagar. Now, I don’t think I’m in the minority when I say Borknagar’s last two albums (Origin doesn’t really count) after Andreas Hedlund (Vintersorg) joining the fold, have never matched the […]

Trinacria started as a joint collaboration between Ivar Bjornson of Enslaved and the two members of Norweigan electronic/noisecore outfit Fe-Mail. Afterwards, the project grew, pulling in Arve and Grutle from Enslaved for an experimental blend of both bands’ sound. Given Enslaved‘s absolutely stellar output over the years, anything these guys are involved in is sure […]

“Why is it you and not me?” and “but you’re strong enough to live on,” both lines from Destruction pop into my head. I’m undecided if the mighty have fallen or if it is me. On the first few listens the music is too mellow and stripped bare of metalness. I don’t like the new […]

About a year ago I had the pleasure of interviewing In Vain of Norway. Unsigned yet enthusiastic, the band was kind enough to send free EP’s for me to send to other writers and magazines. Honestly, I was blown away by the maturity of the sound and I have been keeping a close eye on […]