ALBUM REVIEW: Ellende – Todbringerin


If Taylor Swift can do it, so can Ellende.

The longtime Austrian Atmospheric Black Metal outfit have re-recorded their 2016 record Todbringer for purposes of acquiring ownership. That new effort, entitled Todbringerin (AOP Records), is a shining example of Ellende’s innate ability to produce music that is precise and approached with care and balance.Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Show Me A Dinosaur – Plantgazer (2024 Reissue)


We are into the second half of 2024 and what a year it has been for new music! Even some of the reissues of older recordings coming out so far have been really good. The latest that deserves attention is the 2020 topical album about isolation and loneliness during the COVID Lockdowns, Show Me A Dinosaur’s Plantgazer (AOP Records). The Saint Petersburg post-Black Metal outfit toys with your emotions for nearly forty-five minutes. All while a “fictitious” man lives out his days in lockdown staring at his home plants, pondering about life under the new normal.Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Malconfort – Humanism


In a world where you can never keep on top of everything being released, we can be pretty confident that there isn’t anything else in 2024 quite like Malconfort and the band’s debut, Humanism (Transcending Obscurity Records).Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Amiensus – Reclamation


The geography of Minnesota is described as being a largely woodland abundant area and, famously, waters, often referred to as “The land of 10,000 lakes”. Such scenery has become synonymous with Black Metal; in particular some of the genre’s more melodic bands as well as acts such as Amorphis (albeit the latter has only A Thousand Lakes). It is no surprise then that visuals of Minnesota would also create such Black Metal, with Amiensus’ roots being in the state. Also, much like some of their similar sounding peers, the likes of Reclamation (M-Theory Audio) are also a somewhat immersive experience which feels ready for the outdoors.Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Belore – Eastern Tales


The concept of Epic/Atmospheric Black Metal seems to thrive on extreme ends of the spectrum: it’s either performed as passionately and pristinely as a fantastical saga, or it’s generic drab that breeds vague cliches and untethered musical arrangements. There is no in-between.Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Acathexis – Immerse


Consisting of Jake, Dany, and Déhà, Acathexis unites members of Mare Cognitum, Los Males del Mundo, and Downfall of Nur together as an intercontinental unit based in Argentina, USA, and Belgium, In collaboration with Extraconscious Records, Amor Fati Productions proudly releases Acathexis’ second full length that is highly anticipated; entitled Immerse which is available on both CD and vinyl formats.

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CONCERT REVIEW: Gaerea – Spectral Wound – Afsky – Naxen Live at UT Connewitz


 

I was not supposed to be at this show. I was in Germany for Wacken but the rain had other ideas. As I scrambled to figure out new plans, I searched concerts happening across Germany and came across this one, so I rented a car and hit the Autobahn for the 4.5-hour journey from Hemmingstedt to the UT Connewitz in Leipzig. The venue which felt like an underground concrete bomb shelter, was slow to fill with fans. Shortly before the opening act came on, the fog began to fill the stage, and it continued to fill the concrete bunker we were in.Continue reading