ENSHINE presenta nou single: "Heartbliss" #Enshine #MelodicDeath #DoomMetal #Desembre2025 #NouSingle #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

ENSHINE presenta nou single: "Shimmering" #Enshine #MelodicDeath #DoomMetal #Novembre2025 #NouSingle #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

The Bleak Picture – Shades of Life Review

By Maddog

It’s been a draining year. Lacking the mental energy for new music, I’ve subsisted on a diet of ISIS and Fvneral Fvkk. Clouded by the doomy stylings of the latter, I decided to make my return to reviewing with dismal death-doom. Despite releasing their debut just last year, Finland’s The Bleak Picture is a project of members of Autumnfall. That said, these two bands sound worlds apart, as their names betray. Abandoning the blackened scenery of Autumnfall, The Bleak Picture paints a bleak picture with melodic death-doom that reeks of Finland. Channeling the icons of sadboi history, Shades of Life is a flawed but worthwhile slab of morose doom.

You won’t find much innovation here, but The Bleak Picture has learned from the best. Blending harsh vocals and spoken word, doomy plains and deathy mountain ranges, Shades of Life consists of familiar elements. The opener “Plagued by Sorrow” offers the listener zero seconds of respite before launching into a persistent doom riff. Melodic guitar leads steer the album along, stitching the doomy cuts together in a manner that recalls Enshine (“Without the I”). Rather than slowing to a standstill, The Bleak Picture uses Insomnium riffs to push the album along without diluting its sorrow. The guitars (handled by Jussi Hänninen, along with the other instruments) are the core of Shades of Life, but Tero Ruohonen’s vocals broaden its horizons. While he largely dwells in standard harsh territory, Ruohonen’s cleans tinge the album with gothic influences, like the distorted spoken word of “Absolution.” Indeed, sections like the straightforward rock of “Without the I” recall Paradise Lost. However, lest this lengthy description fool you, Shades of Life is largely standard fare.

It feels criminal to listen to Shades of Life on a 90-degree summer day. The Bleak Picture conveys emotion through the sheer enormity of their riffs, burying the listener like an avalanche (“Absolution”). Elsewhere, Shades of Life deftly intersperses these assaults with tranquility, like the transition from an explosive chorus to minimalist bass-led instrumentals on “Plagued by Sorrow.” These strengths reach their apex on the 11-minute spectacle “Silent Exit.” Evoking Swallow the Sun’s Plague of Butterflies, the track progresses through a nightmarish acoustic melody, forceful doom riffs, and girthy bass lines. Cult of Luna-style drumming leads the song into a climactic ending that raises the bar even further. Across these highlights, The Bleak Picture’s sophomore release boasts a mature approach to songwriting.

Shades of Life still struggles to transcend its melodic death-doom formula. The album’s biggest weakness is its monotony. In their quest for chunky riffs, The Bleak Picture tends to overuse ideas, emulating an uninspired version of Rapture (“Code of Ethics”). Even the album’s best pieces sometimes fizzle out, like the abrupt ending of the otherwise-powerful “Absolution.” Similarly, while the penultimate track “Silent Exit” showcases the best of Shades of Life, the closer “City of Ghosts” settles into a low-energy doom routine that never picks up steam. Despite its apparent variety of influences, The Bleak Picture’s by-the-book approach to death-doom doesn’t always keep my interest.

An album like Shades of Life is difficult to dissect; its success hinges on the heart, not the brain. The Bleak Picture is on the right path, and tracks like “Silent Exit” hit hard with their bulky riffwork and creative variety. But as a whole, Shades of Life isn’t the gut punch I’d hoped for. It doesn’t match the raw power of Paradise Lost, the otherworldly sadness of Enshine, or the narrative prowess of Insomnium. Still, I have no regrets. There are strong whiffs of talent here, and with its mature and tempered approach to songwriting, Shades of Life is an easy, rewarding listen. It’s worth a shot for anyone who prefers moping over sunlight.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Ardua Music
Websites: thebleakpicture.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/thebleakpicture
Releases Worldwide: June 27th, 2025

#25 #2025 #ArduaMusic #Autumnfall #CultOfLuna #DeathDoom #DeathMetal #DeathDoomMetal #DoomDeath #DoomDeathMetal #DoomMetal #Enshine #FinnishMetal #Gothic #GothicDoom #GothicMetal #GothicRock #Insomnium #Jun25 #Melodeath #MelodeathMetal #MelodicDeathDoom #MelodicDeathMetal #ParadiseLost #Rapture #Review #Reviews #ShadesOfLife #SwallowTheSun #TheBleakPicture

#metal #Enshine

https://enshine.bandcamp.com/album/singularity

AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö: Nephylim – Circuition

By Dolphin Whisperer

“AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö” is a time-honored tradition to showcase the most underground of the underground—the unsigned and unpromoted. This collective review treatment continues to exist to unite our writers in boot or bolster of the bands who remind us that, for better or worse, the metal underground exists as an important part of the global metal scene. The Rodeö rides on.”

Oranjeboom, a low-frills lager, holds little love in its home country of the Netherlands, so much so that its production there was discontinued until only recently.1 Why does that matter? It really doesn’t, but it is a fun fact about the Netherlands and a beer synonymous with their lineage. Nephylim hails from the Netherlands too, and, with any luck, their brand of big scope, big sad melodeath will stake a claim that lands with bolder flavor. Over the past ten years, this five-some has cut an EP and a full-length through their own determination. And now, with this sophomore follow-up Circuition, Nephylim may just be hitting their stride. Or, at least, our Rodeö crew seems to think so. Crack open a cold one and sip on riffy sadness. – Dolphin Whisperer

Nephylim // Circuition [March 7th, 2025]

Steel Druhm: Sometimes when you press play on a Rodeö candidate, you wonder why they aren’t signed because they sound so polished and professional. Such is the case with Dutch melodeathsters, Nephylim, and their sophomore opus, Circulation. Taking cues from Ominium Gatherum, Be’Lakor, Enshine, and the more progressive works of Edge of Sanity, Nephylim voyage across various styles of melodeath but always keep things anchored firmly in the Wheelhouse of Steel. After a beautifully regal instrumental opener, Circulation heats up on “Travail Pt. 2 – Animus,” which is like a glowing distillation of Wolfheart and Be’lakor with a seriously epic vibe coursing through it. The guitars riff, trill, and shimmer with a Tuomos Saukkonen-esque flair as grand orchestrations amplify the sound to herculean proportions. It’s the beast of death metal with the beauty of melancholic music, and this style has a proven appeal. I love the majesty of “Grand Denial” and the hints of Dark Tranquillity woven throughout, and the title track bears traces of Dan Swanö’s Moontower and Tomi Joutsen-era Amorphis as it seamlessly melds heavy and sadboi moments. Unfortunately, not every cut hits with the same soul-searing slash of wintery pathos. “Amaranth” is a bit too generic and pedestrian, and though “Withered” does some things very well, the writing is a touch less compelling. Elsewhere, closer “Inner Paradigm” feels like something from the later eras of In Flames, not bad, but less impactful. At thirty-eight minutes, there are bits of bloat scattered around, but nothing that’s fatal if swallowed. There’s a lot to like about Circulation, and I’m left still wondering why Nephylim aren’t signed. With this much potential, they should be! 3.0/5.0

GardensTale: From two live shows, I already knew Nephylim were good. I could not have anticipated what a masterclass Circuition would turn out to be, though. Combining the maudlin symphonic details of Fires in the Distance with the melancholy hope and impeccable composition of Countless Skies is no easy feat, but the songwriting has taken a giant leap forward. Circuition is absolutely packed with beautiful melodies, addictive hooks and enticing cascades. The flow is downright brilliant, such that even after a dozen spins, I find myself glued to the speaker in anticipation of the next stanza, the next riff, the next solo. These are linked together with transitions that are set up and knocked down perfectly, helping every track rush past in spiraling eddies like white water rapids after heavy rain. “Circuition” yanks the heart-strings the hardest; follow-up “Withered” has a more basic structure, but the amazing harmonies and powerful solo make it a standout anyway. Cherry on the cake is the top-shelf production, with meticulous mastering and a balanced mix. The sparse clean vocals aren’t great, just okay, and a few tracks end a little more abruptly than I’d like, but these are small bumps on an engaging journey that begs to be spun again and again. 4.0/5.0

Kenstrosity: Dutch sadboi melodeath quintet Nephylim graced my Bandcamp feed a few months back. I was intrigued, but did not bite. At least, not until our Kermity GardensTale recced it for Rodeö duty, at which point I dove straight in. Embodying a wondrous merging between Countless Skies, Fires in the Distance, and a light touch of The Drowning, sophomore effort Circuition garnered instant adoration from this sponge. A rarer feat, Nephylim’s latest only deepened its hold on my heart, as the opening “Travail” suite enamored with epic soars of melody, crushing riffs that ground the piece in deathly gravity, and emotive roars that shake the roots underfoot. “Amaranth” doubles down on that palpable momentum, bringing forward a fun factor that belies Circuition’s introspective character. Beautiful synths and keys dot the landscape just above that metallic verve and swinging rhythm, evoking something inherently mystical while still operating within the bounds of the human spirit (“Circuition”). As the potent pull of songs like “Grand Denial,” “Withered,” and immense closer “Inner Paradigm” continually challenge my perception of what constitutes a highlight, I find myself universally immersed, committed, and compelled by Circuition. Experiencing this, as much as I pine for new material from those great acts that Nephylim remind me of, I know in my soul that Circuition is one of 2025’s foremost contenders. Great!

Maddog: When Fenrir finally closes the curtain on 2025, Nephylim’s Circuition will be one of my few fond memories of this disastrous year. This hidden melodeath gem triumphs by embracing simplicity without stagnation. No one would argue that Nephylim’s guitarists stretch the limits of human dexterity. And yet, as Circuition buried my ears in riffs upon riffs, it dragged me into its orbit. Blending the classic stylings of Dark Tranquillity with the modern touch of Æther Realm, Nephylim won me over through its irresistible energy. While I initially fell in love with merely a couple of its songs, Circuition’s consistency unveiled itself over time. Indeed, while the closer “Inner Paradigm” was initially my least favorite song, its Shadows of the Dying Sun riffs and its somber ending have made it a highlight. Despite its consistency, Circuition’s mood changes keep it fresh. The fantastic midsection of the album progresses from gargantuan riffs (“Grand Denial”) to tear-jerking Enshine melodies (“Circuition”) to explosive choruses (“Withered”). Circuition is textbook, but it’s both a thrilling spectacle and an emotive powerhouse. Every piece is essential, and every piece is distinctive. 4.0/5.0

Killjoy: The term “Nephilim” in the Hebrew Bible is often translated as “giants” in English. Accordingly, melodic death metal band Nephylim does everything big. Riffs? Big. Rumbling death roars? Big. Thunderous rhythm section? Big. Circuition feels like a highlight reel of the serious and somber side of melodeath, with each individual song bringing something unique to the table. “Travail Pt. II – Animus” embellishes the somber intensity of Insomnium with delicate piano keys reminiscent of Fires in the Distance and heaps of symphonic bombast. The suspenseful drum beats which introduce “Amaranth” organically build excitement by layering on bass and then guitar lines before releasing the pent-up energy with a furious snarl and fiery riffs. But there’s also a tender side to Nephylim; “Circuition” adopts a melancholic and folk-tinted mood laced with deep, beautiful croons, all of which I associate with Vorna. Circuition is considerably more ambitious than Nephylim’s debut, but they never let their ambitions spiral out of control. If anything, I’d like to see them continue to develop their symphonic side that they teased in the first two tracks. Although I find the last third of the record ever so slightly less engaging, I can endorse all thirty-eight minutes of Circuition as worthy of your time. 3.5/5.0

#2025 #AngryMetalGuySUnsignedBandRodeo #AngryMetalGuySUnsignedBandRodeo2025 #ÆtherRealm #BeLakor #Circuition #CountlessSkies #DarkTranquillity #DutchMetal #EdgeOfSanity #Enshine #FiresInTheDistance #InFlames #IndependentRelease #Insomnium #Mar25 #MelodicDeathMetal #Moontower #Nephylim #OmniumGatherum #ProgressiveDeathMetal #SelfRelease #TheDrowning #Wolfheart

Corroding Soul – Corroding Soul Review

By Twelve

Atmospheric black metal is a deceptively wide (sub-)genre, and it seems like every time I opt to review some, I end up with something different. The UK’s Corroding Soul has me in a musing mood over this because I’m not sure I’ve heard atmospheric metal quite like it before. The solo project of David Lovejoy, Corroding Soul, formerly Sorrow Plagues, is releasing its debut release under that moniker and plays symphonic, highly atmospheric black metal in a way that once again is making me reconsider what I think about when I hear the atmoblack term. Usually, we like different around here, but it’s no guarantee of anything—so let’s take a listen and see where we end up.

Corroding Soul is unquestionably a work of atmospheric black metal, in that it’s got the blast beats, the hazy guitar riffs, and the screaming vocal performances that the style is well-known for. What sets it apart from its contemporaries is the heavy use of symphonic elements that help to give the album a space-themed feel. It reminds me of Enshine, if Enshine went the black metal route, or perhaps if they collaborated with a project like Woods of Desolation. Most melodies are performed through piercing guitar leads and propped up by heavy synths and pads that give Corroding Soul a dream-like texture. I haven’t heard much like it—dreamy, spacey metal, sure, effective atmoblack, sure, but not together. The more I think about it, the more that surprises me because it works quite well here.

David Lovejoy is very talented, and his abilities are on full display across Corroding Soul. The guitar leads that act as primary drivers for their songs sound terrific, wistful, and strong, while the rhythm guitars are clear enough to provide genuine heaviness to the album. Opener “Shadow” is a remarkable journey, built around a single, beautiful lead that repeats and shifts, building and releasing tension in a powerful way. “Sapphire” and “Tempest” allow the synths to show off the most, through ringing chords that pair nicely with Lovejoy’s tortured screams (juxtaposing, of course). “Tempest” in particular is beautiful for all its power—and it has plenty of that, bass, guitars, and drums all racing to keep up with each other up to the perfectly-timed interlude halfway through. The sound profile that Corroded Soul aims for has so much potential, and, as a result, there are beautiful, heavy, powerful, and intense moments scattered all across Corroded Soul.

The main reason Corroded Soul does not resonate with me the way I feel it should is that those moments are at times few and far between. With four songs stretching thirty-nine minutes, Corroded Soul puts a lot into each track, and leans heavily on repetition to get to the finish line. This means it’s a problem that the primary theme on “Bound” reminds heavily of “Shadow.” On the other side of the fence, “Sapphire” doesn’t really have a singular unifying idea like the other three songs do. Instead, it explores a great many ideas over eleven minutes. Some of these are genuinely great—I love the hopeful keyboard work about halfway through, for instance—but the repetitions and structures make the back half of Corroded Soul feel longer than they are. I can’t say I dislike it, but it doesn’t hold my attention either.

I want to like Corroding Soul a lot more than I do. I love its themes, the dreamy blend of sorrowful and hopeful music, and the way everything works so well together to create a cohesive sound. The performances are strong, but the songwriting doesn’t quite resonate with me, particularly in the back half of the album. I will be excited to see what comes next for Corroding Soul, but this debut feels ever-so-slightly lost in space to this listener.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Self-release
Websites: corrodingsoul.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/corrodingsoulofficial
Releases Worldwide: January 24th, 2025

#25 #2025 #AtmosphericBlackMetal #BritishMetal #CorrodingSoul #Enshine #Jan25 #Review #Reviews #SelfRelease #SorrowPlagues #WoodsOfDesolation

Blazing Eternity – A Certain End of Everything [Things You Might Have Missed 2024]

By Steel Druhm

In a year where I excessively obsessed over low-IQ, unevolved death metal, a few special albums shook me from my brutish ape froth and made me appreciate beauty and melancholy. Counting Hours did it, and this little unsung gem from Denmark did it too. Blazing Eternity saw a pair of releases in the early aughts and then vanished into the ether. They reformed in 2024 and dropped an album very different from the alt-goth-rock heard on 2003s A World to Drown In. Instead, A Certain End of Everything follows in the exact footsteps of my much beloved Rapture, very early Katatonia, and Slumber, with bits of Insomnium and Enshine sprinkled over the frosted tear flakes. In the process, Blazing Eternity finds a sound sure to hit the sadboi heartstrings and bring you the gift of unhappiness just in time for the holidays.

Though hardly offering a new take on the style, these Danes know how to wring all the misery juice from it for maximum heartache. Opener “One Thousand Lights” is over 7 minutes but every second is steeped in such exquisite morositude that you’ll wish it was longer. It captures everything I loved about Rapture and currently love about Counting Hours and it’s in the running for my Song o’ the Year. The weeping, trilling leads, the harsh but downcast vocals, the forlorn noodling, it’s all so glorious! It reminds me of “A Tear From a Beast” from Autumnal’s 2014 opus and that’s very high praise. The title track is equally grand and sullen, doomy and full of icy emptiness. Depressing guitar work seeps grief into your bone marrow and there’s no joy in this void of despondency. The chorus will stick in your soul and form a lasting sorrow reservoir. Fun stuff, right?

One could argue the album is one-note and that note is relentlessly grey and depressive, but that’s true of anything in this genre. There are no weak songs and there are sufficient variations in tempo and vibrancy to prevent everything from devolving into a morass of malaise. “Your Mountains Will Drown Again” has a Goth rock vibe and calls to mind the more upbeat material from Lake of Tears. Closing movement “The Bells” also spikes the energy level just enough to wake up the fast-twitch muscles while submerging you in a frozen Finnish lake. Morten Lybecker is adept at crafting soul-killing leads and harmonies full of forlorn gloom and decorating them with pretty but hopeless trilling, making everything feel like it leads to a funeral. There are some truly beautiful moments captured here (I’m especially taken with the piece beginning at 4:31 in “The Bells”). Vocalist Peter Mesnickow delivers the majority of his lines in a harsh rasp quite like that of Henkka J. Villberg of Rapture which works perfectly with the material.

A Certain End of Everything is sadboi Goth metal done very well. I’ve been returning to it all year and it’s proving to be a great listen on cold, bleak winter days. Blaze of Eternity caught lightning in a frozen bottle here and you should get yourself some of these negative emotions. Only through enjoying of deep sadness can we attain true happiness.

Tracks to Check Out: “One Thousand Lights,” “A Certain End of Everything,” and “The Bells”

#2024 #ACertainEndOfEverything #BlazingEternity #CountingHours #DoomMetal #Enshine #GothicMetal #Insomnium #Katatonia #MightyMusic #Rapture #ThingsYouMightHaveMissed2024

Enshine - Cinders

https://invidious.flokinet.to/watch?v=neuxaVe4O4U

#Enshine #Cinders #melodicdeath #doommetal #music