Lmst

#TheMetalDogArticleList
#Blabbermouth
EDENBRIDGE Returns To STEAMHAMMER/SPV, Announces New Album 'Set The Dark On Fire'

https://blabbermouth.net/news/edenbridge-returns-to-steamhammer-spv-announces-new-album-set-the-dark-on-fire

#EDENBRIDGE #Steamhammer #SPV #SetTheDarkOnFire #Lanvall #SabineEdelsbacher #AustrianMetal #CosmicEmbrace #WildThings #NewAlbum

Ancient Mastery – Chapter Three: The Forgotten Realm of Xul’Gothar Review

By Killjoy

Certain musical genres lend themselves well to fantasy themes, and Ancient Mastery has its finger firmly on the pulse of several. Perhaps the most recognizable of the many projects of Austrian artist Erech Leleth, Ancient Mastery doubles as a storytelling conduit for the land of Valdura. Doom_et_Al penned a TYMHM piece for Chapter One wherein he heaped deserved praise for the spellbinding integration of triumphant dungeon synth into epic black metal compositions. While we didn’t cover Chapter Two, I personally enjoyed its unexpected pivot toward blackened power metal even more. Upon receiving Chapter Three, I was intrigued to learn that its story is set long before Chapters One and Two, and I was eager to hear what surprise twists Ancient Mastery had in store from a musical point of view.

Fittingly for a prequel, Chapter Three sounds like a direct ancestor of the diverse array of influences that defined One and Two. The synths exhibit the timidity of a hero at the beginning of their journey, a far cry from the assertive melodies that almost single-handedly carried many of the music passages in Chapter One. But where the synths’ boldness falters, the guitars pick up the slack, alternating between icy tremolos and classic heavy metal hooks with practiced aplomb. While Chapter Three is a return to meloblack emphasis, it retains some of the exuberant guitar leads of Chapter Two. The common thread between the three chapters is Leleth’s dry rasps, which usher the narrative forward with surprisingly high intelligibility.

Chapter Three is the closest that Ancient Mastery has ever been to “traditional” melodic black metal. This is largely due to the increased investment in the guitar riffs, which are considerably more developed and striking. From the rollicking intro of “Behind the Walls of Urduk” to the crooked, menacing tune of “The Dread of Xul’Gothar,” they bring a lot of personality and energy. The drumming has also leveled up, with Jöschu Käser (Aara) lending his talents behind the kit. Album opener “Impending Shadows” is representative of this evolution, beginning with slow, deliberate percussion which gradually increases in tempo over the course of the song, culminating in intricate double bass-centric rhythms for the final verse. As a result, Ancient Mastery now sits closer to the midpoint between the synth-shrouded riffy intensity of Stormkeep and the ambient leanings of Summoning, a nice sweet spot for fantasy black metal.

As welcome as the improvements are, they seem to have cost a bit of Ancient Mastery’s core identity. Chapter Three is darker and more cavernous in tone and atmosphere, which can sometimes be an effective aesthetic, but here it often feels empty rather than imposing. The soft atmospheric sections have inexplicably become the thorn in the side of the album’s overall pacing, with nearly every song abruptly halting to shoehorn a quiet synth interlude. Aside from being out of place, they tend to consist of barely discernible notes (“Impending Shadows”) or empty oohs and ahhs (“Behind the Walls of Urduk”) that add little to the music. Thankfully, the songs recover their momentum and finish strong, so these are ultimately minor—albeit frequent—hiccups. Additionally, it’s hard not to miss the female guest vocalists who previously added such depth and feeling to the storytelling, particularly in Chapter Two.

With three chapters now under his belt, Erech Leleth has demonstrated an aptitude for adopting diverse musical approaches that all sound like Ancient Mastery. It took a little longer to grow on me, possibly due to preconceived expectations, but I expect Chapter Three to be a key entry point for potential new fans. The guitar-driven, synth-supported strategy and liberation from mid-paced tempos were exactly what the project needed to sustain a sense of progression. My hope for Chapter Four, though, is for these new traits to be joined more equally with the shrewd dungeon synth that originally earned Ancient Mastery my endearment. Until then, grab a goblet and witness the wonders of Xul’Gothar.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 190 kb/s VBR mp3
Label: Self Release
Websites: ancientmastery.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/Ancient-Mastery
Releases Worldwide: April 4th, 2025

#2025 #35 #AncientMastery #Apr25 #AustrianMetal #BlackMetal #ChapterThreeTheForgottenRealmOfXulGothar #DungeonSynth #MelodicBlackMetal #Review #Reviews #SelfRelease #Stormkeep #Summoning

This week's #ThursDeath is one I've been listening to this week in anticipation of their debut LP.

Vienna, Austria's FESSUS have promised their first full length this year, and from the sound of this 2023 demo 'Pilgrims of Morbidity', it's gonna be killer.

Fessus are crushing, riffy, cavernous, an old school feel-- just how I likes it.

https://fessus.bandcamp.com/album/pilgrims-of-morbidity

#metal #DeathMetal #osdm #Fessus #Austria #Vienna #AustrianBands #AustrianMetal @wendigo @HailsandAles @umrk @rtw @BlackenedGreen @Kitty @lola

Sheogorath – Antimon Review

By GardensTale

Most metalheads are nerds. But nerds come in gradations, and the same goes for bands. On a scale of ‘watched Game of Thrones once’ to ‘alternates LARPing and demoscene meets every other weekend,’ solo black metal bands are along the lines of ‘hobbyist cosplayer.’ 1 So it’s a good thing that Sheogorath founder Matej Kollar got his buddy Patrick Pazour to do vocals, as social interaction automatically decreases the nerdiness. But wait, what’s that? Sheogorath is a character from the Elder Scrolls video games? Oh Matej. Into the vat of foam swords you go, buddy. Jabs aside, Sheogorath has been hammering away for over a decade already, and Antimon is album number 4 in that time, so we can at least have an expectation of experience from the duo. But expectations may lead to disappointment, which leads to anger and hate, as I think Yoda said. So will Sheogorath live long and proper, or is it a TPK?

A cursory scan of Sheogorath’s prior material shows a promising and rather vicious melodic black metal act at work, so color me shocked when Antimon demonstrates a hard swerve into Aether Realm territory. A hoarse scream and a handful of tremolos are all that’s left of the band’s black metal roots, but the screams are now complemented by occasional cleans and a few guest female vocals. Synths have come out of the woodwork to add a shot of 80’s fantasy adventure flair, and the riffs and arrays of solos are melodic to a fault, to a point where the vocals are the only thing guarding the border between melodeath and power metal. Sheogorath is rolling out of the darkness on wheels of cheese.

But if you’re not lactose intolerant and willing to indulge in the Viking-themed LARP, there is a lot of decent-to-good material to be found. Kollar is a hell of a guitar player, able to sustain pretty catchy material at speed and using a broad array of techniques. From galloping power metal riffs (“Mage in Rage”) to energetic blackened bursts (“Odin”) to sea shanty swing (“Set Sails”), there’s plenty of enjoyable guitar work, and the band displays a knack for varied songwriting that seems to draw on a different set of influences for every next track. “Set Sails” and “Raziel” are especially good, as Sheogorath’s constituent parts feel more cohesive and the flaws of the rest of the album are largely absent here.

Because there are certainly a host of flaws. Antimon may be Sheogorath’s 4th album, but the complete overhaul in terms of style and genre leaves the album sounding much like a new band that happens to use some stuff from its predecessor. Pazour’s got a decent scream, but his range is limited, which leaves him fighting the melodic songwriting. This is more than evident whenever he tries his hand at clean vocals, which span perhaps a quarter octave and are the worst part of every song they appear in. The lyrics are a parade of inane cliches, and they emphasize the predictability of the songwriting, which often travels the path of least resistance. The keys tend to hinder more than they help due to their limited library, evoking dungeon synth as much as string quartets and the short synth solo in the opener still sets my teeth on edge.

Sheogorath’s self-reinvention is not a full-blown success yet. Some of the instrumentation and songwriting choices feel slapdash, added to fit a formula without having the right tools or skills to pull them off. But the flaws don’t go down to the bone. The riffs and energy are infectious and the guys know how to write a hook. I’m not certain yet that they wouldn’t have been better off sticking to actual black metal, but I’m not yet wholly writing off this stylistic swerve just based on Antimon. With some hard reflection and improvements in key areas, there’s no reason Sheogorath can’t make a real banger next time.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: N/A | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Self-released
Websites: sheogorath.at
Releases Worldwide: January 24th, 2025

#25 #2025 #Antimon #AustrianMetal #ÆtherRealm #Jan25 #MelodicDeathMetal #Review #Reviews #SelfReleased #Sheogorath

Harakiri for the Sky – Scorched Earth Review

By Dear Hollow

Harakiri for the Sky is one of those bands that is consistently very good but constantly eludes greatness. The Austrian duo’s grasp on melody is second to none, pairing yearning atmospheres with blackened aggression and meditative tempos, resolute in its muscular weight and melodic motifs without devolving into either jadedness nor frailty. While devoted to the style’s trademark slow-burning growth, they constantly avoid the pitfalls of the “post-black” descriptor, refusing to fall into the weak and twinkly shenanigans of their counterparts. However, composition remains mid-tempo and largely too safely confined to the overlapping of predictable melodies and their organic resolutions. This is not a bad thing and Scorched Earth makes that clear.

Harakiri for the Sky has made its trademark unmistakable, and had five full-lengths of practice in doing so. Instrumentals provided by Matthias Sollak are richly layered with heart-wrenching melodies and bound by thick plodding riffs with the edge of blackened rawness, while J.J.’s formidable barks communicate both riveting charisma and rending pain alike in a bit of a post-hardcore spin. Career highlights like 2016’s III: Trauma and 2021’s Mære firmly establish this balance and run with it, while 2018’s Arson fell into forgettable territory by virtue of simply being in an excellent discography. Frankly, that’s a fantastic problem to have, and I had no doubts that Scorched Earth was going to be anything short of enjoyable. Featuring guests like Tim Yatras of Austere and Serena Cherry of Svalbard and Noctule contributing to this instrumental and vocal tapestry,1 Scorched Earth feels like the natural next step for Harakiri for the Sky in renewed vigor and intensity.

Harakiri for the Sky’s grasp on melody remains largely the same, retaining the “twinkly” description but imbued with a heartbreak reminiscent of more depressive styles. Scorched Earth descends deeper into this dirge, with solemn passages and slower tempos letting the breadth of harmony and desperation echo further across its empty outstretched hands. The approach remains very simple, with Sollak’s chord progressions doing the talking in all their natural crescendos and organic dissolutions. Tracks can take on a nearly folky feel reminiscent of melodeath greats like Insomnium or Amorphis (“Heal Me,” “With Autumn I’ll Surrender”), while the clever layering of riffs, leads, and melodic motifs offer a place of utmost emotional intensity between placid passages of yearning (“Keep Me Longing,” “No Graves But the Sea”), while notable tension in unorthodox chord progressions adds a texture beyond just “pretty black metal” (“Without You I’m Just a Sad Song,” “I Was Just Another Promise You Couldn’t Keep”). While Austere’s Tim Yatras performance is difficult to discern in “Heal Me,” Svalbard/Noctule’s Serena Cherry lends her sirenic croons in closer “Too Late for Goodbyes,” ending Scorched Earth on a solemn and desolate note.

Harakiri for the Sky’s melody, although front and center, is bolstered by tracks featuring a more unpredictable instrumental presence than before. A voiceless venom keeps the sound grounded, as more morose and beautiful movements are contrasted with heavier riffs and moments of darkness that bare a track’s teeth. While the rhythmic chugs kick through the beauty with recklessness (“Without You I’m Just a Sad Song,” “With Autumn I’ll Surrender”) and more upbeat punk rhythms and blastbeats inject a blasting vigor (“No Graves But the Sea,” “Keep Me Longing,” “Too Late for Goodbyes”), dissonance serves as a necessary and ugly thread to keeping the hyper-melodic palette from getting too much (“Heal Me,” “I Was Just Another Promise You Couldn’t Keep). While the vast majority of Scorched Earth is dominated by beauty, it’s nice to have more dimension and more humanity from Harakiri for the Sky in its darker passages.

At its core, Scorched Earth is quintessential Harakiri for the Sky. Setting out with more reckless elements such as heavier riffs, blackened blastbeats, or a touch of dissonance, it feels a tad more dangerous and experimental than in previous iterations.2 However, the epitome of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” formula, Harakiri for the Sky plays it close to the vest with the true star of the show: layers and layers of melody. While shorter than Mære, Scorched Earth is nonetheless daunting in its hour length, and its hyper-melodicism can oft grow tiring while J.J.’s post-hardcore-influenced barks has always felt slightly out of place against the crystalline melody, Harakiri for the Sky remains amazingly melodic and always pleasant to listen to. Scorched Earth, once again, is frustratingly safe – truly the act’s signature.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: AOP Records
Websites: harakirifortheskyofficial.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/HarakiriForTheSky
Releases Worldwide: January 24th, 2025

#2025 #35 #Amorphis #AOPRecords #Austere #AustrianMetal #BackwardsCharm #BlackMetal #Groza #HarakiriForTheSky #Insomnium #Jan25 #Karg #Megadeth #MelodicBlackMetal #Noctule #PostBlackMetal #PostHardcore #Radiohead #Review #Reviews #ScorchedEarth #Svalbard

New episode! Listen: https://linktr.ee/pctd/

REEK OF DEATH [Death/Thrash Metal; Austria] - https://reekofdeath.bandcamp.com/
AVULSED [Death Metal; Spain] - https://avulsed.bandcamp.com/
CHÜZO [Aggro Metal; Canada] - https://chuzomtl.bandcamp.com/
KATHAREIN [Heavy Metal; Romania] - https://open.spotify.com/artist/41FLI0NFbPz2t3RLREfGfS

#reekofdeath #thrashmetal #deathmetal #austrianmetal
#avulsed #spanishmetal
#chuzo #canadianmetal
#katharein #romanianmetal
#metalpodcast

Endonomos – Endonomos II – Enlightenment Review

By Steel Druhm

There’s something extra satisfying about gambling on a completely unknown act in the promo sump and being handsomely rewarded for the biscuit risk. Austria’s Endonomos describe themselves as “epic doom” and on their sophomore outing, Endonomos II – Enlightenment, they unveil a shockingly mature and intoxicating blend of classic doom, post-metal, and death that’s powerful, emotional, and captivating. Part Solitude Aeturnus, part Fvneral Fvkk, part Ghost Brigade and Darkest Era, Endonomos II marries doom’s past with the present in ways that feel organic and unforced, natural and logical. Cobbling together so many successful doom tropes from across multiple genre variants isn’t easy, but Endonomos forge long songs that flow effortlessly, shifting moods and textures as influences intertwine and coalesce into beautiful sadness and elegant despair. Enlightenment indeed!

You won’t wait long to be impressed either. 9-minute opener “Inversion” is a massive mission statement by Endonomos, delivering everything a doom fancier could ask for and MOAR. Beginning in classic doom style with big riffs and forlorn noodling with hints of prime Katatonia, things shift toward post-rock melodoom akin to Ghost Brigade with chillingly plaintive clean vocals scarring your soul before shifting into booming low register death roars that shake the foundations of burden. The guitars trill funerary lines and weep openly around whatever gravesite your mind manufactures and everything feels so sweetly morose. The song’s half over before you realize it, and you won’t want it to end, such is its depressive allure. Doom perfection. “Atheon Anarkhon” is darker and more dissonant with harsh edges protruding at every turn and death croaks leading the charge until despondent Patrick Walker-esque wailing vocals join the fray. This is more death doom than doom-death and it feels massive and crippling. The last few minutes truly blossom with the achingly forlorn cleans coming forward to spread grief as epic guitar lines borrow from While Heaven Wept to push the song to that next level of awesome.

My first thought upon hearing “Resolve” was that it could be a lost track from Fvneral Fvkk’s masterpiece Carnal Confessions. The way the vocals play off the despairing harmonies is very much the same and the vocals themselves are very reminiscent of the brilliant performance by Simon Schorneck (Cantor Cinedicus). Certain moments remind me of vintage Solitude Aeturnus as well and the guitar work is stunning and beautiful throughout. Ahab’s Daniel Droste provides guest vocals on “Hostile” and the mix of traditional Candlemass / Solitude Aeturnus style doom and modern flavors like Khemmis and Swallow the Sun is expertly realized for another major triumph of the broken heart. All six tracks deliver the rich, anguished goods and depression hasn’t sounded this good to me in a while. At no point do the songs feel bloated or in need of trimming though three of the six push well past 8 minutes. The album’s 48-plus minutes seem to vanish in a blip, making you feel like you lost time somewhere. That’s a sign of high-quality writing.

I’m very taken with the vocals by Lukas Haidinger. He channels a lot of genre heavyweights like Rob Lowe (Solitude Aeturnus), Krum (Darkest Era), Patrick Walker (40 Watt Sun, Warning) and Mikko Kotamäki (Swallow the Sun) and that’s fine company to find oneself in. His ability to sound despondent is a rare gift and his death vocals are top-shelf. He sells the songs like they’re sketchy junkers at a disreputable used car lot and you’ll buy in, with or without complementary undercoating. His bass work is also excellent, providing an ever-present and essential low-end rumble to the proceedings. Philipp Forster and Christoph Steinlechner bring a wealth of doom worship and technical acumen to the album, moving through the years to borrow the best bits from the biggest champions. You hear morose strumming from the Katatonia / Rapture schools sitting next to classic crunching and post-metal/post-rock minimalist wallowing and it all fuses seamlessly. Their riffs are crushing when they should be and the solos are poignant, elegant, and bewitching.

Endonomos find that elusive sweet spot between heavy and melodic and craft a collection of songs that allows them to punch far above their weight. Endonomos II – Enlightenment is easily one of the best doom albums of 2024 and one of the best of the last few years. If 2024 has yet to deliver the doom your masochistic heart longs for, this is it. Don’t miss the Endorama.

Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 319 kbps mp3
Label: Argonauta
Websites: endonomos.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/endonomos | instagram.com/endonomos
Releases Worldwide: September 27th, 2024

#2024 #40 #ArgonautaRecords #AustrianMetal #DarkestEra #DoomMetal #Endonomos #EndonomosIIEnlightenment #FvneralFvkk #GhostBrigade #Katatonia #Rapture #Review #Reviews #SolitudeAeturnus #SwallowTheSun #Votum

Glare of the Sun – TAL Review

By Carcharodon

We’ve had a long wait for the follow-up to Glare of the Sun’s 2019 sophomore album, Theia. That was a record I liked quite a bit, giving it a place on my first year-end list here at AMG Industries. I admit that I thought, even then, that it was slightly overrated in our review. I will also admit that I can’t remember when I last listened to Theia until revisiting it as a precursor to diving into its successor, TAL. It probably wouldn’t get the same list spot today. However, upon revisiting, it is, as I remembered, a densely layered and starkly beautiful slab of progressive doom, dabbling also in the post-metal realms. Does TAL match the highlights of its predecessor or is it left in the shadows?

From the outset, TAL feels like Theia with all the dials turned up to 11. Where Theia dealt in shades, shifting slowly between huge doom riffs, post-metal melodic, and more, bridging the gap between mid-career Katatonia and Ghost Brigade, TAL is a more in-your-face affair. That’s not to suggest that Glare of the Sun has fundamentally changed its sound but TAL is packed with more immediacy and energy. Delicate instrumental passages remain (the first third of “Amnesty,” for example) but there is more purpose and endeavor to them. It feels like they are guiding you, rather than wandering and searching. There is also a much greater sense of grandeur at play on TAL. It just feels massive, with the heavy, progressive doom riffs still in play. However, they now carry a slightly more abrasive post-hardcore, Cult of Luna-adjacent vibe like the opener “Colossus.” In contrast, other parts border on a grand symphonic feel (the rest of “Amnesty”). The other thing coming through, particularly in the deep, sustained clean vocals on the likes of “Leaving towards Spring” and “Rain” is a strong Prey-era Tiamat feel. This balances some of the album’s mountainous heaviness with a much more introspective silkiness.

Glare of the Sun combines the elements of their sound to great effect on TAL. The back-to-back pairing of “Äon” and “Relikt” exemplifies this, with the former feeling like Clouds meets Slow, while the latter is a masterclass in progressive doom, tinged with that Ghost Brigade sense of despair. “Stonefall” could easily have been penned by Cult of Luna for Somewhere along the Highway, its textures and builds feeling both nuanced and cathartic. What the album does so well is to shift between these influences and genres, while retaining a sense of cohesion. Although closely related, these genres all have their trademarks and tells, which are not easy to mesh, without sacrificing an album’s flow. Glare of the Sun’s five-year absence has led to an album that feels much more confident in its writing, with both “Rain” and “Äon” vying for a place on a songs of the year playlist.

That said, perhaps managing that creative flow led to TAL being longer than it should be. Clocking in just shy of an hour, there is a lot to digest here and, because of its intensity, it feels more tiring to listen to in a single sitting than Theia, despite being slightly shorter. The vinyl version, which won’t include the final two tracks appearing on the CD/digital version, would be almost a quarter of an hour shorter, and much tighter for it. However, you lose the excellent “Horizon,” with “Amnesty” an anticlimactic replacement to close the record. The other track missing from the vinyl, “Storm of Light,” is less of a loss. It’s solid enough but forgettable, not matching the aggression or the subtle melodics of the rest of the material on TAL. Similarly, while “Leaving towards Spring” does nothing wrong, it fails to match the power of “Colossus” or the beauty of “Rain.” TAL’s production is very good, with an airy, balanced mix that gives prominence to Christoph Stopper’s very good vocals (both harsh and clean), without allowing them to eclipse the rest of the band.

I’m very pleased to see Glare of the Sun back and they’ve grown in confidence as songwriters during their absence. The immediacy TAL serves up, in contrast to Theia, is fantastic but it needed to be matched by just a bit more restraint. Cutting the likes of “Storm of Light” and shaving off a few more minutes here and there would have given the record as a whole the same directness and intensity as the individual tracks. Falling just shy of greatness, TAL is a very good record, deserving of your time (and money).

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Lifeforce Records
Websites: gotslfr.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/glareofthesun
Releases Worldwide: September 13th, 2024

#2024 #35 #AustrianMetal #Clouds #CultOfLuna #DoomMetal #GhostBrigade #GlareOfTheSun #Katatonia #LifeforceRecords #PostDoom #PostHardcore #PostMetal #ProgressiveDoom #Review #Reviews #Sep24 #Slow #TAL #Tiamat

Aufgemerkt! #Anomalie veröffentlicht am 01.11.2024 „Riverchild“.

🔗 https://gloomr.de/#1461

#PostBlackMetal #AustrianMetal #NeuesAlbum

Weltenbrandt – Transzendenz Schatten Romantik Review

By Steel Druhm

Written by: Nameless-n00b_86

As the temperature where I live begins to inch downward, I find serenity in bleak yet beautiful post-black metal. Weltenbrandt is a relatively new Austrian post-black band looking to make a name for themselves in the review scene with their second full-length album Transzendenz Schatten Romantik. This is fitting because I, too, am attempting to make a name for myself—both literally and figuratively—on the other side of the review process.1 I eagerly tore open my very first promo, which informed me of several guest vocalist appearances from bands like Harakiri for the Sky and Ellende (among others). While I went in with few expectations for Weltenbrandt, they were slightly raised by virtue of association with such heavy hitters in the genre. Can Weltenbrandt reach the same level of quality and—perhaps more importantly—differentiate themselves from their peers?

A somewhat paradoxical duality is immediately apparent when listening to Transzendenz Schatten Romantik. Half the album is composed of melodic black metal, most commonly with mid-paced tremolo riffs and a dolorous atmosphere similar to NONE. The other half expands upon the sound of the debut album Schöpfung with heartfelt instrumental sections in the vein of Unreqvited. On paper, neither of these components is particularly new or noteworthy. However, what makes Transzendenz Schatten Romantik impressive is the ease with which it ebbs and flows between the black metal and the peaceful instrumental passages. For instance, “Prana” opens with a simple choral melody that melds into a post-black verse and then aids the handoff to the string arrangement in the middle. Like a pair of tightly entwined ropes, both parts are stronger together than they would be individually.

If I had to choose a single word to describe Transzendenz Schatten Romantik, it would be “varied”. Founder, songwriter, and vocalist Bernhard Zieher has a knack for using many different tools in ways that feel natural. Many of the songs pull from an array of pianos, strings, choral backing vocals, synths, and acoustic guitars to infuse emotion into the music. There’s also a range of tempos within and between songs. While none are quite funereal in tempo, some are slower and tend to feature more of the aforementioned alternative instrumentation (“Melancholia Urgewalt,” “Resilienz,” and “Broken Crosses”). Others are faster and more guitar-heavy, reminding the listener that this is still black metal at heart (“Apotropaion” and “Tiefste Rast”). Then there are, of course, the two interlude tracks. In my experience, instrumental interludes usually fulfill one of two roles in an album: pleasant palate cleanser or pointless distraction. Thankfully, both “Ornament” and “Serenade” fall under the former category and contribute in a small way to the overall atmosphere and flow of the album.

As refreshing as the instrumentation is, the element that could benefit from more diversity would be the vocals. No less than four guest vocalists are crammed into Transzendenz Schatten Romantik: P.G. of Groza on “Apotropaion,” J.J. of Harakiri for the Sky/Karg on “Prana,” Silvano of Regnum Noricum on “Broken Crosses” and L.G. of Ellende on “Tiefste Rast.” That’s an abundance of guests, considering the total runtime is only 39 minutes across 9 tracks (7 full-length songs). While they certainly don’t detract from the record, they all perform harsh vocals that don’t add much above and beyond Zieher’s snarls and screams. Having relatively few tracks with solely the main vocalist undermines this fledgling band’s identity to some degree. Furthermore, this brand of highly melodic and emotional black metal can be elevated by clean vocals—Vorna’s gorgeous album Aamunkoi from last year is a stellar example—so the lack of a guest singer to complement Zieher seems like a missed opportunity.

Despite these minor concerns, almost everything that Weltenbrandt attempts lands well, which is surprising for such a young band. They have succeeded in writing an album worthy of being mentioned and played alongside the more established groups that lent their voices to Transzendenz Schatten Romantik while carving out their own style in the genre. It’s a strong effort that is barely held back from a higher score by some slight reservations (and the fact that Steel removed the 4th key from all n00b-issued keyboards after Holdeneye went through the program). I can heartily recommend this album to any inclined towards the softer side of black metal or those looking to get a head start on autumn moods in the Northern Hemisphere.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: WAV | Format Reviewed: WAVY
Label: Self-Release
Websites: weltenbrandt.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/weltenbrandt
Releases Worldwide: August 25th, 2024

#2024 #35 #Aug24 #AustrianMetal #DepressiveBlackMetal #Ellende #Groza #HarakiriForTheSky #Karg #RegnumNoricum #Review #Reviews #SelfRelease #TranszendenzSchattenRomantik #Unreqvited #Vorna #Weltenbrandt

Monument of Misanthropy – Vile Postmortem Irrumatio Review

By Thus Spoke

If you’re squeamish…skip this paragraph. Or don’t, because any good fan of death and grind should be ok with a little gore. Vile Postmortem Irrumatio continues Monument of Misanthropy’s recent trend of writing albums centred around certain serial killers, following 2021’s eponymously-titled Unterweger (about Austrian-born killer Jack Unterweger). This time, the subject is Ed Kemper, whose crimes might have been indistinct from the many other misogynist multiple-murderers of the late sixties and early seventies were it not for his particular habit of decapitating his victims post-mortem, and…orally copulating with the heads. He did this not only with the six co-eds he killed, but also his own mother. If you didn’t know what irrumatio meant, now you do. Death metal is far from estranged from the violent and depraved, and Monument of Misanthropy again live up to their name and genre bracket with an example of one of history’s more violent and depraved men, and an excuse-for-misanthropy of a human being. How does the music fit its subject?

As album number three, Vile Postmortem Irrumatio cements the band’s sound as a lean, mean, deathgrind machine. As much a product of the stomping, crushing aggressiveness of the old style as the cutthroat, technical, mania of the new. Now leaning harder into the slick and twisted speed alongside sharp, scaling riffs, Monument of Misanthropy now sound a bit like if Cattle Decapitation had a baby with Aborted, minus the goblin cleans of the former and a large portion of the urgent melodies of the latter. Recognizable from previous efforts, the music is that much slicker, faster, and absolutely face-destroying. Speaking as someone who’s not typically this genre’s hugest fan, the album’s relentless pace, groove, and malice infectiously wormed their way into my brain, bringing a smile to my face, and an unstoppable repetitive bang to my head. Because, it’s clear, from the raison d’être of death metal as a whole to the specific instance of Vile Postmortem Irrumatio itself, that none of this is to be taken seriously, or as any glorification of Kemper. It’s morbid fascination, with a healthy sense of humor. And so the gleefully extreme guitar-wrangling and clustering drum-battering are simply thrilling, and the interview samples1 that divide the record have that perfect horror-movie chill, enhanced by the building of creepy synth-accented accompaniment.

Vile Postmortem Irrumatio works because it’s a lot of things masquerading as only one thing. You think you’re getting a slab of dumb, silly-heavy fun (and you are), but crammed into that hulking,2 brutal body is much more. There’s unexpectedly aesthetic minor melodies soloing and swooping over the gory blastbeats and bass churning (“Manipulating the Experts”, title track, “A Nice Beheading for MoM”). There’s groove aplenty (“The Atascasdero Years,” “The Devil’s Slide,” “A Nice Beheading…”). There are vibrant flashes of electrifying tremolos and lurching disso-death shivers irreverently joining forces (“Hits One and Two,” “The Devil’s Slide,” “Your Treachery Will Die with You”). There’s a satisfying range of vocal styles, from guttural gurgles to squealing screams. What might sound like a set of Barnum statements for modern brutal death metal, really only applies to the top-shelf stuff, the stuff that gets people like myself, who struggle with the death metal pedigree, on board. Riffs, vocal delivery, and the crucial percussive factor3 are punchy as fuck, rhythmically smacking you about the head to a series of slamming (“Pueblo Paranoia”), bouncing (“A Nice Beheading….”), buzzing (“The Atascasdero Years”), stomping (title track) swings. This hits hard in the most enjoyable way.

You would think that inserting multiple instrumental, interview-sample-bedecked interludes would cause issues for flow. Ok, it does, a tiny bit, but really not very much, and in this regard Monument of Misanthropy have come leaps and bounds beyond Unterweger, where the spoken-word sections did jam up the gears a bit. “Why Did You Keep the Heads” comes the closest to compromising the album’s momentum, but it still falls naturally within the structure of the record’s story, its concept. Opener “First Time It Makes You Sick To Your Stomach” and later “Oh, I Suppose You’re Gonna Want To Sit Up And Talk All Night Now” are unironically creepy in the aforementioned horror-movie way, and amp up the suspense quite brilliantly before their respective following tracks come tearing in. This, in combination with the sheer ease with which the music pulls off its tricks, make its jams pretty memorable. And we haven’t even got to the obvious implications for lifting abilities with literally any of the (non-interlude) cuts blaring in your ears.

There remains a question of the true longevity of Vile Postmortem Irrumatio, but a considerable part can be attributed to a snobbishness towards the genre. It’s loud, and it’s certainly not pretty—proclaiming a DR that isn’t 3 only because of it’s very dynamic interludes—but it is a slick, nasty, solid bit of fun. And from a brutal death metal album about a necrophilic serial killer, what more could you possibly ask?

Rating: Very Good
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Transcending Obscurity
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: August 9th, 2024

#2024 #35 #Aborted #Aug24 #AustrianMetal #BrutalDeathMetal #CattleDecapitation #DeathMetal #Deathgrind #Grind #MonumentOfMisanthropy #Review #Reviews #TechnicalDeathMetal #TranscendingObscurityRecords #VilePostmortemIrrumatio

Death Racer – From Gravel to Grave Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier

I’m not sure what is happening in 2024, but the motor racing industry keeps making its way into metal albums. The first of the year was the surprisingly good self-titled release from I Am the Intimidator. Austria’s Death Racer continues this trend with their debut album, From Gravel to Grave. While I Am the Intimidator focused on the final moments of racing legend Dale Earnhardt, From Gravel to Grave explores racing globally. That said, the overall theme is the same: the lives taken in this high-octane sport. But, Death Racer does it a little differently, incorporating some late ’80s black, speed, and thrash into the mix. The result is a filthy, gear-grinding effort that feels like an insane mix of old-school NWOBHM, Exciter, Bulldozer, modern-day Darkthrone, and a touch of Bathory. It’s an ugly mix that seems to have faded away since the ’90s but these road warriors care little about that. So, let’s pump that motherfucker gasoline (again).

According to the promotional materials, Death Racer came about due to Razor’s song “Deathrace,” off their impressive debut record, Executioner’s Song. Though there are few comparisons between From Gravel to Grave and Razor’s early days, the inspiration is still there. With gnarly rasps and screams buried behind the guitars and drums, Death Racer focuses on bass-heavy riffs that speed, thrash, and drag bloody knuckles across the asphalt. Lyrically, the album ventures from the absurd (“Traumatized in Traffic Jam Ejection”) to the whiplashing (“Racers of Death”); from the lost lives in infamous races (“Imola ’94 (From Gravel to Grave)”) to notorious race tracks (“Nordschleife”). The vibes range from fun and upbeat NWOBHM tracks to relentless black/thrash charges and sinister, building doom. It’s a wild ride that surprised me regardless of how many times I’ve heard this style before.

“Motormentor” begins the album with a bass lead that pushes through a vile, unpolished black/speed charge. The rasping, screaming vocals hide behind the guitars as they spit and vomit all over the track. After the guitars and drums rip and tear with a relentless attitude, the song deviates as the bass resurfaces to drag this thing to its finish. While a solid opener, it has nothing on the pace and attitude of “Inverted Crossroads.” Though hilariously titled, this track slays. After opening with a simple sound byte, the drums take off with a bone-shattering display of power. The song alternates between this colossal performance and a smooth groove before giving way to the bass guitar. Then, the bass begins a new climb that erupts into the mightiest display of aggression on the album.

“Racers of Death,” “Traumatized in Traffic Jam Ejection,” and the closer, “S.M. Death Worship,” are other enjoyable ones. “Racers of Death” charges off the line with a slick, old-school speed lick that fuses with some NWOBHM character. It has some clever stop-start moments where the bass and drums rebuild the song before the guitars come crashing down, emphasized by the vocalist’s hacking phlegm. “S.M. Death Worship” is another bruiser that uses the bass and drums to create new builds even when the tires are no longer on their rims. It powers through speedy licks, and old-school transitions, and even shows off some big Bathory-esque clean vocals during its six-minute runtime. Even with those cool oddities, “Traumatized in Traffic Jam Ejection” is the most unique track on the album. Though it only sports spoken-word passages, its dragging-knuckle attitude is a pleasing break from the black/speed/thrash onslaught. It also uses these basic elements to introduce new variations of the riffage, ascending with each iteration.

As it seems to be happening to me lately, From Gravel to Grave is another record that is better on its back half than the front. Though there are plenty of stellar tracks, others don’t quite grab me with the same urgency. For example, the two opening tracks, “Motormentor” and “Nordschleife.” They aren’t bad but they can’t hold a Formula One cup over the others. And while “Imola ’94 (From Gravel to Grave)” is interesting, I prefer it skips the effect-laden guitars in its introduction and gets on with it. For a debut album crafted in a style as old as Steel, From Gravel to Grave is memorable enough to keep me coming back. It’s a filthy record with ridiculous lyrics and concepts, but I can get behind it for what it is. So, if you like your metal dripping with burned oil, you should check this out.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Dying Victims Productions | Bandcamp
Websites: facebook.com/deathracerspeedmetal
Releases Worldwide: July 26th, 2024

#2024 #30 #AustrianMetal #Bathory #BlackMetal #Bulldozer #Darkthrone #DeathRacer #DyingVictimsProductions #Exciter #FromGravelToGrave #IAmTheIntimidator #Jul24 #Razor #Review #Reviews #SpeedMetal #ThrashMetal