Sometimes an album can be considered on its own merit, or with just a passing reference to the context it exists within. For others, they can, indeed, should, be linked to a “run” or an arc of albums within a period of a band’s career. And for some, it is worth going back to the beginning to truly see the big picture of what and why a specific album is.
It’s inevitable: the world will one day cease to exist, and mankind will be relegated to the pages of history like everything that’s come and gone beforehand. How or when that happens is anyone’s guess. But Humanity’s Last Breath gives us quite a glimpse of what the apocalypse might sound like.
Whilst perhaps not as highly regarded for the genre as the likes of Norway, the United Kingdom does have a formidable pedigree for producing Black Metal, whether that being down to recognisable names such as Cradle Of Filth up to a current and brilliant crop including the likes of Underdark and Dawn Ray’d. Adding to these ranks are the enigmatic The Sun’s Journey Through The Night, led by vividly masked architect No One (and now joined by equally mysterious Corvus, Deimos, and Lune) and quickly growing a formidable reputation following three, contrasting, full-length albums encompassing raw Black Metal and a full ambient release, plus several smaller releases and demos, leading up to this, their fourth full-length and most realised and adventurous work to date.
For many who tuned into the Eurovision Song Contest in May, Australian entrants Voyager were just another fun, novelty rock act. Crowd-pleasers with wild hair and even wilder grins, the Aussie five-piece were still a markedly different proposition to the previous hard rock and metal participants in the completely serious competition reserved strictly for European countries, featuring absolutely no politically motivated judging whatsoever.
Flowing down from the Adirondack Mountains in New York, just as the rivers do, Blackbraid returns with the second chapter, Blackbraid II (self-released). Created by Sgah’gahsowáh, Blackbraid quickly took the black metal world by storm with his stunning self-titled just last year that mixed atmospheric black metal with indigenous American mythology and history.
Norway’s very own Sandvika and Finnmark-bound newcomers Tjære and Lil Snus have been doing an impeccable job in representing a consistent branding of an anti-authoritarian death cult that is against bogus, ingenuine, mass-produced capitalist systems in the industry. They strongly aspire to show people who understand their values and what they’re aiming for and to advocate what they stand for.
Norwegians Saint Karloff formed in 2015 and their debut full-length All Heed the Black God followed in 2018. The latest album Paleolithic War Crimes (Majestic Mountain Records) comes as something of a bittersweet release following the sad loss of bassist and founding member Ole ‘Karloff’ Sletner in 2021 (RIP). The writing for this record had started in 2019 with Ole very much on board and to quote the band ultimately, “reflects a band in transition and exploring new paths, but at the same time it retains that proper heavy Karloff-vibe.”
Seemingly coming out of the blue — like the sudden emergence of a horrible memory buried for years — drone doom supergroup Khanate returns with To Be Cruel (released digitally on May 19th and on physical formats on June 30th via Sacred Bones Records) the group’s first album since 2009’s Clean Hands Go Foul. Shrouded in secrecy prior to its release, To Be Cruel delivers three tracks and 62 mins of harsh, cold, sparse, experimental sounds fit to ruin any good day.
One of the most influential figures in the constantly evolving Indian metal scene, vocalist and guitarist Demonstealer (aka Sahil Makhija) is probably best known for fronting progressive technical death metal act Demonic Resurrection. Since 2000, Makhija has been integral to the growth and development of a metal scene in a country not exactly renowned for its metallic input. Not just via his music and the establishment of India’s first designated metal recording studio, a record label (Demonstealer Records), and metal-centric festival (Resurrection Festival), but by creating Headbanger’s Kitchen, the world’s first heavy metal cookery show. Because why not.
Beyond Vision (Blues Funeral Recordings) marks Acid King‘s fifth full-length album to date and its thirtieth anniversary as a band since their formation. It’s also the follow-up to 2015’s overlooked Middle of Nowhere, Centre of Everything album which Lori referred to in a recent interview on Conan Neutron‘s Protonic Reversal show with a hope of reissuing it at some point. Fingers crossed.