Getting a Harakiri For The Sky record release in the heart of winter will pull at your heartstrings. Scorched Earth (AOP Records) does just that for over an hour and doesn’t overstay its welcome. It is an audible voyage through pain, suffering, and loss that is both cathartic and beautiful. Every song has its own story and emotional journey that compliments the songs around it. Oh, and there’s also a sweet Radiohead cover at the end to ice the cake.Continue reading
Tag Archives: black metal
ALBUM REVIEW: The Great Old Ones – Kadath
It’s been six years since the last malformed utterances of The Great Old Ones, but now the French H.P. Lovecraft worshippers have returned from the cosmic void, not only with new album Kadath (Season of Mist) but with a change in direction.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Bergthron – Neu Asen Land
Despite coming from Germany, the 30-year-strong Atmospheric Black Metal unit Bergthron tend to incorporate strong Norse-themed concepts and influences into their songs. Playing mostly Black Metal with a touch of progressive undertones —that would remind their listeners of Sólstafir and the likes–, they are best known for writing songs that pay homage towards the North and its pulchritude, and the ancient times; references of Norse myths included. This fact somehow also bears relevance with how the concepts of their sounds –both lyrically and sonically– are strongly associated with the cold and winter. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: PATRIARKH – ПРОРОК ИЛИЯ
After the dust settled, PATRIARKH emerged to carry on the legacy of Batushka. They take their sound to loftier places on ПРОРОК ИЛИЯ (Napalm Records). There is a more grandiose nature to the sound this album unveils. It leans more in the direction of symphonic black metal. Rather than being bolstered by a string section, they have incorporated an array of lush Eastern European sounds. This brings an almost Dead Can Dance vibe to the sonic tapestry putting them closer to what Rotting Christ does than Behemoth.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Voidwards – Bagulnik
Voidwards are an enigmatic collective formed in 2005. Bagulnik (Aesthetic Death Records) is the first full-length in their career of almost twenty years. The record draws inspiration from a Russian teacher named Ivan Perfiliev and his writings over a century ago about a swamp that he claimed had supernatural properties.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: CMPT – Na utrini
CMPT weaves an impressive atmosphere on Na utrini (Osmose Productions). The Balkan black metal band sets themselves apart from the pack by not just going full blast in your face. Not falling victim to the sophomore slump, the band is assured in what they are doing here. The choked rasp of the vocals to the most prominent element to ground the band in his sub-genre. It moves along with an eerie creep. It’s not until the second song that the drummer begins to push for more momentum, This restraint is their strength, as there is no shortage of Black Metal bands out there still trying to bleed blast-beats from the late nineties era sound, that find too much conformity coming from a misanthropic genre. Here the guitars tap into the trademark metallic buzz of black metal, but the band has already set the stage for a wider range of dynamics, making this a more well-balanced listen.Continue reading
CONCERT REVIEW: Eyehategod – Goatwhore – Flesh Creep Live at KKs Steel Mill
The rain is lashing down so hard this evening that floods are already heading quickly towards biblical proportions. The treacherous and occasionally completely submerged roads around the area certainly go some way to explaining the slightly lower-than-expected turnout at KKs Steel Mill tonight, which although still very respectable, is clearly not as busy as usual.Continue reading
GHOST CULT MAGAZINE TOP 75 ALBUMS OF THE YEAR 2024
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Last-minute slinky Norwegian jesters aside, our dedicated and awesome team of writers, photographers, editors, contributors, alumni, designers and what have you, have come together to work through our regular collaborative and demographic confirmation of those albums that tickled our collective pickle in 2024.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Hexenbrett – Dritte Beschwörung: Dem Teufel eine Tochter
Today on the block we have Hexenbrett. If you are a fan of guitar-driven Black Metal, look no further than this new offering. On their sophomore effort, we are treated to some super hooky riffage, mixed with enough ambiance and atmosphere to keep everything nice and evil. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Lord Sin – Confessions
Black metal is to thank for bringing the mystique back to music. This duo from Portugal cloaks themselves in black shrouds, we can assume they are not playing in, but instead of blast beats Lord Sin hits you with some creepy dirges on their sophomore album Confessions (Larvae Records). The graveyard stomp of the riffs allows darkness to possess their sound organically, rather than having to pull out all the Halloween decorations to convince the listener. Halfway into the first song, it’s easy to hear where they fall in the middle ground between doom and black metal. For a duo, they are cranking out a great deal of sound and care about writing songs, rather than just bashing out riffs. Continue reading